Spain international Dean Huijsen has apologised on Real Madrid‘s Weibo account for sharing content on social media that is offensive to Asians, EFE report.
Huijsen, 20, had reposted an image of an Asian person with comments that Chinese users labelled racist for alluding to the shape of the person’s eyes.
The screenshot has since been deleted from the Real Madrid defender’s account.
“I sincerely apologize to my Chinese friends,” the statement, released in Chinese on Weibo, said.
“I previously forwarded content that included offensive messages unintentionally. It was completely unintentional, and I regret the distress caused.”
Weibo is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users.
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Neither Madrid nor Huijsen have released that statement in any of their other social media outlets, provoking criticism from Chinese fans, who have not only questioned the scope of the apology but are demanding a global apology or a video, instead of a written statement.
In 2024, a Real Madrid fan posted a song that was offensive to the Chinese. It was described as “insulting to China, vulgar and of bad character” by the Chinese Embassy in Spain.
The club, through a diplomatic channel, condemned the video and made clear it did not represent the club’s values.
Huijsen’s apology comes in the same week that the club is waiting for UEFA to complete an investigation into allegations of racist abuse towards their player Vinícius Júnior from Benfica midfielder Gianluca Prestianni.
