Real Madrid will be without Vinicius Junior for their La Liga match against Barcelona on 25 October after the Brazilian was handed a four-match ban by the Spanish Football Federation's disciplinary committee for pulling an opponent's hair.
According to the committee's announcement on Wednesday, the punishment followed the red card Vinicius received in Real Madrid's match against Villarreal last week. The number 7 forward appeared to have scored Real Madrid's second goal, but the goal was disallowed after the referee consulted VAR and determined that he had pulled Nathan Saliba's hair in the buildup to the goal.
The four-match ban includes the away trip to league leaders Barcelona, based on the direct red card and Vinicius's subsequent reactions. The El Clasico on 25 October is seen as the highlight of the matchday and carries major significance for the La Liga title race.
After the match, Vinicius — who came on in the 52nd minute and was sent off 20 minutes later — posted an apology on social media: "Sorry to the team and the fans."
The sequence of events showed Vinicius celebrating a goal when referee Isidro Diaz de Mera was asked by VAR to review the earlier incident. The referee then disallowed the goal and issued a red card to Vinicius, also known as Vini Jr.
When it seemed Vinicius had doubled the lead, Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho ran out to celebrate with the players. However, shortly afterwards, Vinicius appeared furious at the referee's decision, shouting in Diaz de Mera's face while teammates tried to calm him as he left the pitch.
