The Spanish Football Association has officially announced the rejection of Real Madrid's appeal against the red card of Huijsen.
In its appeal, Real Madrid argued that the referee’s decision “contains an obvious material error, as the sent-off player’s action did not prevent an obvious goalscoring opportunity.”
However, the Disciplinary Committee did not agree with Real Madrid’s position and rejected their request. To justify its decision, the Committee cited Article 27 of the Disciplinary Code, which stipulates that the content of the match report shall take precedence, except in cases involving “obvious material errors.”
In matters of violations related to sports discipline, the referee’s decisions on match-related facts are final, unless there is an obvious material error. In the Committee’s view, the video evidence provided by Real Madrid failed to prove any error in Gil Manzano’s match report.
The report stated: “The Disciplinary Committee considers that none of the aforementioned circumstances exist in this case, as the appealing club has failed to raise a valid dispute or provide any evidence to refute the fact that the sent-off player pulled the opponent from behind with his hand.”
“Furthermore, it is worth noting that disciplinary bodies have no authority to assess or interpret the application or interpretation of the Laws of the Game. As stipulated in Article 118.3 of the RFEF Disciplinary Code, this authority ‘belongs exclusively, solely and finally to the referee, and federal disciplinary bodies shall have no right to interfere.’”
“Therefore, the determination of whether an ‘obvious goalscoring opportunity’ existed is a technical decision regarding the interpretation and application of the Laws of the Game—matters that fall under the exclusive purview of the referee. Once a violation is confirmed, disciplinary bodies cannot re-examine such decisions.”
“On this point, the Sports Administrative Tribunal (TAD) has clearly stated that the function of disciplinary bodies ‘must in no case re-adjudicate the match or the sports event in question’ (TAD Case Nos. 101/2025 BIS and 66/2025 BIS).”
Based on this reasoning, the Disciplinary Committee has imposed a one-match ban on Huijsen—a minimum penalty as specified in Article 121: “A direct red card in a match shall result in a ban of at least one match, unless the act constitutes a more serious violation, which shall be accompanied by a corresponding fine.”
