Real Madrid’s Dean Huijsen Escapes Severe Punishment, PSG Stars Not So Lucky | OneFootball

FIFA have confirmed that Real Madrid center back Dean Huijsen will be available to feature in the Club World Cup final should his side defeat Paris Saint-Germain in Wednesday’s semi.

The Spanish summer arrival picked up the first red card of his senior career in the closing stages of Madrid’s quarterfinal victory over Borussia Dortmund. A matter of seconds after Kylian Mbappé fired Xabi Alonso’s side into a 3–1 lead with a record-breaking, acrobatic strike, Huijsen was caught offguard by Serhou Guirassy’s charge into the penalty area.

The towering Spaniard failed to swipe at the striker’s feet so tugged at his shirt for good measure. The referee had little option but to award a penalty and brandish a straight red card. As outlined in the official’s post-match report, Huijsen was punished for “preventing a goal or an obvious goalscoring opportunity for the opposing team”.

This crime, as FIFA confirmed on Tuesday, is only worthy of a one-match ban, ruling him out of the semifinal against PSG. The European champions were not so fortunate.

At the end of a bonkers 2–0 victory against Bayern, PSG had two players sent off. Willian Pacho was dismissed in the 82nd minute after crunching into Leon Goretzka’s shin with a wild lunge, while Lucas Hernández was given his marching orders for gently prodding the point of his elbow into Raphaël Guerreiro’s jaw.

FIFA deemed that both offences were “serious foul play,” namely a tackle or challenge which “endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality.” This offence warrants a two-game ban.

Luis Enrique will therefore be without half of his first-choice center back partnership and his backup left back for the semifinal against Real Madrid and a potential meeting with Chelsea or Fluminense in the showpiece fixture on Sunday.