15 October 2026 1:01 am WAT
Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior will miss the upcoming Clasico in LaLiga against Barcelona after being issued a four-match suspension on Wednesday following his red card for hair-pulling against Villarreal last week.
The Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee confirmed the Brazilian will be banned for several matches, including the visit to face league leaders Barca on October 25, for both the red card and his subsequent protests.
Though, Vinicius Jr has apologised to his teammates and the club’s fans after being sent off in the 1-0 win over Villarreal in LaLiga at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, the ban stays.
The Brazilian thought he had scored Real’s second goal but his effort was disallowed after a VAR review found he should be dismissed for pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair in the build-up.
After the match, Vinicius, who came on in the 52nd minute and was red-carded 20 minutes later, posted on social media, saying, “sorry to the team and the fans”.
Spanish Football Federation regulations state that pulling an opponent’s hair is regarded as violent conduct.
The sanction for violent conduct without causing injury to an opponent (Article 130) is a ban of one to three matches.
Real’s next three LaLiga games are against Sevilla, Barca and Racing Santander, but missing El Clasico is a bitter blow for the 26-year-old Brazil international.
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