Huijsen on the derby: if the mistakes had favoured Real Madrid, there would have been a huge uproar | Goal.com

Published on 24 Sep 2026 | Reading time: 2 minutes

Dean Huijsen has hit out at the Video Assistant Referee for not intervening in the incident involving Kang-in Lee and Fede Valverde during the recent Madrid derby, which ended 2-1 to Los Blancos on their own turf in La Liga.

Speaking to the Spanish website "okdiario", Huijsen said: "This is regrettable, because we have video technology to stop this play-acting, and to prevent players from rolling around on the pitch. Since Valverde didn't stay on the ground and feign injury for 5 minutes, the other player didn't get a red card, and that's regrettable. But video technology should know that anyway."

Vinícius is Brazilian, so is Raphinha too?

By a crushing margin: Real Madrid fans call for Vinícius to be dropped in favour of Diomande

The Spain international went on: "I don't understand why the video technology didn't intervene on the foul against Valverde. It may have been a mistake by the referee, human errors do happen, but if that's the case, what's the point of having video technology?"

He continued: "If the incidents we saw against Atlético Madrid had happened the other way around, the outcry would have been enormous."

Those comments followed a derby littered with refereeing calls that sparked widespread controversy. Chief among them was the failure to send off Kang-in Lee for his challenge on Valverde. Huijsen himself was then dismissed in the second half after Atlético were awarded a penalty for a foul on Giuliano Simeone.

Real Madrid confirmed last Tuesday that medical examinations showed Valverde had suffered a third-degree sprain in his left ankle. The club stopped short of putting a timeframe on his absence, saying only that his condition would be monitored. Press reports, though, suggest the Uruguayan could be out for several weeks.

Defeat to Atlético dropped Real Madrid to fourth in the La Liga table on 15 points, six behind leaders Barcelona, who boast a perfect record of 21 points from 7 rounds.

Read the original news