Vinicius Junior will sit out four league matches, including the Oct. 25 Clasico against Barcelona, after Spain’s football federation disciplinary committee announced the suspension on Wednesday, AFP and Al Jazeera English reported. The ban follows a red card the Brazilian winger received during Real Madrid’s 1-0 win over Villarreal on Saturday.
A video review showed that Vinicius had pulled the hair of Villarreal’s Nathan Saliba in the buildup to a goal he had scored. The goal was disallowed, and referee Isidro Diaz de Mera sent him off. Al Jazeera English reported that teammates tried to calm Vinicius down as he shouted at the referee and left the field. Real coach Jose Mourinho was also upset by the officiating and skipped his postmatch news conference, AFP reported.
How the penalty was calculated
According to the committee’s ruling, two matches were for violent conduct and two more were for protests directed at officials, AFP reported. Madrid Universal reported that the referee’s match report said the hair pull happened while the ball was not in play, a detail that weighed against him. The protest portion was set at the minimum penalty, the outlet added.
Vinicius later apologized on social media. “I am sorry to the team and the fans,” he wrote, AFP reported. The 26-year-old has scored once in nine appearances this season and was on the bench before entering the match against Villarreal.
The timing matters for both clubs. The match at Barcelona’s home ground is Mourinho’s first Clasico since taking over again at Madrid this summer, AFP reported. Barcelona, the back-to-back Spanish champions under coach Hansi Flick, entered the fixture with a perfect league and cup record for the season, the agency added. Vinicius has also had a difficult start to the campaign, which makes his absence from the biggest match on the calendar a significant loss for Madrid, according to the reports.
Al Jazeera English described the pulled-hair incident as the moment that changed the match. Real had appeared to double its lead before the goal was waved off after the video review. Madrid still held on for the win, though the reports do not say how much the decision affected the result beyond that.
Schedule and possible appeal
Beyond the Clasico, the suspension also covers league matches against Sevilla on Oct. 18, Racing Santander on Nov. 1 and Valencia on Nov. 7, AFP reported. NBC Sports said he would be out until Nov. 22, while Madrid Universal said his return was expected in the match against Celta Vigo during the weekend of Nov. 20-23. The reports differ on the exact date.
Madrid Universal reported that the club is expected to appeal to have the ban reduced, though that effort is considered unlikely to succeed. Barcelona, which has won all 10 of its matches this season across competitions, sits six points ahead of Madrid. The outcome of any appeal, and whether it would change the schedule, remains unknown.
