Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior banned four La Liga matches for hair-pull
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The gist
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior received a four-match La Liga ban for pulling Villarreal's Nathan Saliba's hair.
The ban rules him out of the Clasico away to league leaders Barcelona.
Background
Vinicius Junior is a Brazilian forward for Real Madrid, the La Liga club coached by Jose Mourinho and sitting fourth in the table. The ban came after the Spanish Football Federation's Disciplinary Committee reviewed referee Isidro Diaz de Mera's report from Real Madrid's 1-0 win over Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu. Vinicius, who has scored just once in nine appearances this season, had been dropped to the bench and was sent off about 20 minutes after coming on as a substitute.
How it unfolded
- Oct 14, 2026Vinicius was shown a straight red card in the 72nd minute after VAR footage showed him pulling Villarreal midfielder Nathan Saliba's hair during the build-up to a disallowed Real Madrid goal.
- Oct 14, 2026The Disciplinary Committee confirmed a four-match suspension: two games for violent conduct away from a challenge for the ball and two more over his reaction to the dismissal.
- Oct 18, 2026Vinicius was unavailable to face Sevilla.
- Oct 25, 2026Vinicius was set to miss the Clasico away to league leaders Barcelona at Camp Nou.
- Nov 1, 2026Vinicius was unavailable to face Racing Santander.
- Nov 7, 2026Vinicius was unavailable to face Valencia.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- The federation's disciplinary committee suspended Vinicius two games for behaving violently while not in a position to challenge for the ball and two more for protests to the officials.
- Player
- Vinicius wrote on social media after the match: "I am sorry to the team and the fans."