Madrid’s road into the autumn fixtures has narrowed for Vinicius Junior, whose dismissal against Villarreal has now brought a four-match suspension from the Federation’s Disciplinary Committee. The Brazilian will miss the Clásico as well as Real Madrid’s meetings with Sevilla, Racing and Valencia, leaving his next possible league appearance projected for the trip to Celta on 21 or 22 November, after the international break.
Four matches for the Villarreal incident
Vinicius was shown a straight red card after pulling Saliba’s hair during the Villarreal match, before continuing to challenge the referee’s decision. The disciplinary ruling has split the punishment into two separate two-game bans.
- Two matches were imposed for violent conduct away from play, when the player was not in a position to contest the ball or when play had stopped. The ruling cites Article 130.2 of the disciplinary code, alongside the applicable additional fine under Article 52.
- A further two-game suspension was issued for protests directed at the referee, an assistant referee or the fourth official. That sanction falls under Article 127, again with an additional fine under Article 52.
The combined ban means Vinicius will not feature in La Liga again before November’s international window.
Real Madrid prepare a further appeal
Real Madrid had expected a three-match penalty rather than four and intend to take the case to the Appeals Committee. The club had already submitted a challenge before the final sanction was announced, but the Disciplinary Committee rejected that initial request and confirmed the four-game punishment.
There was, however, a successful appeal from the Spanish side elsewhere in the Villarreal case. Konaté’s yellow card was removed after Madrid contested it, clearing the Frenchman of the booking that had placed his availability for the Clásico in doubt.
Additional touchline punishment
Nuno Santos, Real Madrid’s goalkeeping coach, has also received a one-match suspension following his sending-off in the same Villarreal fixture.
