Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior could miss El Clásico against Barcelona on 25 October after he was sent off for pulling an opponent’s hair against Villarreal on 10 October.
The timing makes the length of any ban decisive. Real Madrid play only one league match before the trip to Barcelona, at home to Sevilla on 18 October. A one-match ban would cost Vinícius only the Sevilla game. Two matches or more would rule him out of the Clásico as well.
The 26-year-old Brazilian, left out of José Mourinho’s starting line-up, came on in the second half shortly before Yan Diomande gave Madrid the lead at the Santiago Bernabéu. He then appeared to double it, and Mourinho ran on to join the celebrations. Referee Isidro Díaz de Mera was called to the monitor by the video assistant, who showed him Vinícius tugging hard on the hair of Villarreal’s Canadian midfielder Nathan Saliba as the two sprinted upfield. The referee disallowed the goal and showed a straight red card in the 72nd minute.
Madrid held on with 10 men to win 1-0.
The referee’s report
How the incident is recorded matters as much as the incident itself. Díaz de Mera wrote in his match report that after being sent off, Vinícius protested by raising his voice and moving towards him in an aggressive manner, and had to be held back by teammates. The Spanish Football Federation’s Competition Committee will weigh both the foul and the protest when it sets the sanction.
Vinícius has been here before. In January 2025 he received a two-match ban for violent conduct after striking Valencia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski. The federation’s appeals committee rejected Real Madrid’s appeal against that ban, ruling that the referee’s report carried a presumption of accuracy that the video did not contradict.
Even Villarreal’s players saw little malice in Saturday’s incident. “I don’t think he meant to hurt anyone, but it is a red card,” defender Juan Foyth said.
Vinícius apologised to his teammates and supporters on social media after the match. Real Madrid can appeal any suspension, but the club’s record with appeals in similar cases has been poor.
The Clásico kicks off at 20:00 GMT on 25 October in Barcelona.
