Real Madrid have emitted an apology to their Chinese following, after Dean Huijsen shared racist memes on social media over the weekend. Huijsen himself is yet to address the matter personally.
The 20-year-old reposted an image of a Chinese man with the caption ‘Even the Chinese call him Chinese’, and ‘You could blindfold him with dental floss’. Huijsen’s activity caused outrage among the Chinese and Asian community online.
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Real Madrid issue apology to Chinese fans
Image via Lars Baron/Getty Images
On Monday, Real Madrid published the following apology on behalf of Huijsen on their Weibo account say Diario AS, the largest Chinese social media platform.
“I sincerely apologise to my Chinese friends. I previously forwarded content that included offensive messages unintentionally. It was entirely unintentional, and I regret any distress caused.”
Los Blancos have yet issue the same apology on their other social media channels, and Huijsen has not referenced the matter on his personal social media accounts either. This is the second time that Real Madrid’s image has taken a hit in China in the last two years, after a fan impersonated Chinese fans back in 2024. The club were subsequently contacted by the Chinese embassy regarding the incident, and issued an apology on that occasion too.
Incident comes just days after anti-racism protocol
The timing could hardly be worse, as Real Madrid try to make a stand against racism on an international stage, after the anti-racism protocol was activated during their clash with Benfica for alleged racist abuse towards Vinicius Junior. On Monday, UEFA provisionally suspended the accused Gianluca Prestianni – who has defended his innocence – for the return leg of their Champions League tie with Real Madrid. If Prestianni is found guilty, then he will face a minimum ban of 10 games. It is not clear yet when UEFA’s investigation will be concluded.
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