Vinicius Junior will miss four league matches, including the highly anticipated El Clásico, after the Spanish Football Federation’s disciplinary committee sanctioned the Brazil international for misconduct.
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior has been suspended for four league-stage matches, including the ‘El Clásico’ fixture against FC Barcelona, after he pulled the hair of an opponent on Saturday, when they won 1-0 against Villarreal at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
Vini tugged Villarreal star Nathan Saliba’s hair hard in the 73rd minute as they sprinted down the field right before the Madrid star scored a goal, that was also ruled out. The Brazilian forward was shown a straight red card for his actions.
Vini Jr. banned for four games
The Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee announced a four-match suspension for Vini Jr just before Los Blancos’ UEFA Champions League match against Roma on Wednesday. The committee said that the forward was handed a two-match ban for the hair-pulling incident and another two-match suspension for his aggressive protests to referee Isidiro Diaz de Mera.
Notably, Vinicius had screamed at Diaz de Mera as his teammares tried to calm him down while leaving the field. In the match report, the referee had noted that the footballer protested his decision by ‘raising his voice towards where I was standing in an aggressive manner.’
Real Madrid were expected to appela against the suspension, and reports have suggested that their initial appeal had already been dismissed.
Mourinho lashes out
Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho criticised the timing of Vinicius’ suspension, arguing it was unfair to communicate the decision right before a crucial match. He also accused them of acting without consideration or transparency.
“Do you think it’s normal for a player from a Spanish team, preparing for an important match that’s also crucial for Spanish soccer, to find out about his four-match suspension just two hours before kickoff?
“Couldn’t they have announced the decision now or tomorrow morning? We were on the bus about to arrive at the stadium when we found out… They’ve started doing things without any shame,” Mourinho said.
As a result, Vini Junior will miss Sunday’s home fixture against Sevilla, the away El Clasico showdown in Barcelona as well as the away matches against Racing Santander and Valencia.
