“Vinicius Júnior reacted on social media to his sending-off in the match between Real Madrid and Villarreal (1-0), played this Saturday at the Santiago Bernabéu. The Brazilian forward, who was shown a red card in the 72nd minute, posted a brief message on his Instagram account once the match had ended.
“The joy goes on… Sorry to my team and the fans”, wrote the winger, in a text in which he combined the celebration of the team’s victory with an apology for having left his side with one player fewer in the decisive stretch of the match.
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The sending-off came in one of the most controversial plays of the night. Vinicius, who had come off the bench in the second half, sent the ball into the net in what looked like 2-0, but the referee disallowed the goal after spotting a prior infringement by the Brazilian on a Villarreal defender in the tussle before the shot, where he pulled Saliba’s hair. In the same move, the referee showed him the card that sent him to the dressing room.
The forward left the pitch visibly angry with the referee’s decision, responding with gestures of protest before walking off. His sending-off forced Real Madrid to defend with ten players the narrow lead secured by Yan Diomande, who scored the only goal of the match in the 63rd minute.
The Brazilian also spoke out again shortly afterwards by sharing a new post on his Instagram stories. Vinicius showed his displeasure with the refereeing treatment that, in his view, he repeatedly receives. “And the one who always gets yellow and red cards is Vinicius, what a disgrace”, was written in a montage with several images of incidents from different matches in which, in his view, no opponent was cautioned for tackles or blows against him.
