Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior has been handed a four-match suspension after pulling an opponent’s hair, ruling him out of the Spanish league meeting with Barcelona on October 25.
The Brazilian will miss Real’s next four La Liga fixtures, including the El Clasico against the league leaders and reigning champions.
Vinicius was sent off during last week’s match against Villarreal after a video assistant referee review found that he had pulled Nathan Saliba’s hair in the build-up to what he believed was Real Madrid’s second goal.
The goal was disallowed and referee Isidro Diaz de Mera showed Vinicius a red card. The Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee confirmed the suspension on Wednesday, with the punishment covering both the dismissal and his protests afterwards.
Vinicius had come on in the 52nd minute and was dismissed 20 minutes later. Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho had run on to celebrate when he thought the forward had scored, only for the decision to be overturned moments afterwards.
Visibly angered by the decision, Vinicius shouted at Diaz de Mera as teammates attempted to calm him while he left the pitch. He later posted on social media: “sorry to the team and the fans”.
