Real Madrid Issue Huijsen Apology in China After Defender Shares Offensive Post
Real Madrid published an apology attributed to Dean Huijsen on Chinese platform Weibo after the defender reshared a post widely seen as mocking Asian people.
Real Madrid moved quickly to do damage control in one of their most important commercial markets this week, publishing an apology in China on behalf of defender Dean Huijsen after he reshared a post that caused serious offence.
What Actually Happened?
Huijsen reposted an image on his Instagram that a large number of users — predominantly Chinese football fans — interpreted as mocking the physical features of Asian people. The post was deleted not long after it went up, but by that point the damage was done and the backlash, especially from supporters in China, was already gathering pace.
- The image showed a person of Asian appearance
- It was accompanied by comments from other users that were widely considered racist
- The post was removed from Huijsen’s account after the criticism started rolling in
Real Madrid’s Response
The club went straight to Weibo — essentially China’s version of Twitter — to publish a statement attributed to Huijsen, written in Mandarin and aimed squarely at a Chinese audience. In it, the defender says the reshare was unintentional and offers his apologies.
The statement reads: “I sincerely apologise to my Chinese friends. I unintentionally reshared content containing offensive messages.”
Huijsen stresses it was entirely involuntary and says he’s sorry for any upset caused.
A Few Things Worth Noting
This one’s a bit nuanced, and there are a couple of details that haven’t gone unnoticed:
- Platform-specific apology: The statement only appeared on Weibo. It wasn’t posted on Huijsen’s or the club’s international social media accounts simultaneously, which some fans in the Weibo comments section were quick to point out
- Commercial context: China is one of Real Madrid’s biggest strategic markets globally, so the club clearly felt a direct, localised response was necessary
- Timing: The whole thing moved fairly fast — post up, post deleted, backlash, apology, all within a relatively short window
The Bigger Picture
Look, resharing something without clocking what’s in it is something plenty of people have done, but when you’re a high-profile footballer at one of the biggest clubs on the planet, that kind of slip-up travels. Real Madrid clearly weren’t willing to let it fester, particularly given how much they’ve invested in building their brand in Asia.
Whether the Weibo-only apology fully draws a line under it remains to be seen. The fact it wasn’t pushed out more broadly is something fans have already noticed, and it’s a fair question to ask. For now though, the club have made their move and will be hoping this one gets put to bed sharpish.
Source: MARCA