Madrid’s autumn calendar has acquired an unexpected absence: Vinicius Junior will miss the first Clásico of the 2026/27 campaign after the Spanish Football Federation imposed a four-match LaLiga ban following his dismissal against Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Key takeaways
- Vinicius has been suspended for four league matches after the incident involving Villarreal defender Saliba.
- Two matches relate to the straight red card and two more to his protests after the decision.
- He will be unavailable for Real Madrid’s visit to Barcelona at Camp Nou on 25 October.
- The Brazilian remains eligible for Wednesday’s Champions League match against Roma and is expected to start.
- His next possible LaLiga appearance is against Celta de Vigo on 22 November.
A Clásico removed from the schedule
The federation’s decision rules Vinicius out of four successive domestic fixtures: Sevilla at home, Barcelona away, Racing Santander away and Valencia at home. The punishment applies only to league football, leaving Real free to select him in Europe.
That means he can feature against Roma on Wednesday, before further Champions League ties against RB Leipzig on 21 October and AEK Athens on 4 November. His league return is scheduled for the trip to Celta, provided there are no further disciplinary developments.
The absence is particularly significant in Barcelona, where the first meeting between the Spanish giants had been due to bring Vinicius into the centre of the occasion at Camp Nou. Instead, Real will travel without one of their defining attacking figures.
The Villarreal incident
Vinicius had not started the eighth-round meeting with Villarreal, with Diomandé selected ahead of him. He entered seven minutes after half-time with the match still scoreless and quickly helped give Madrid more thrust in attack. Diomandé soon put the home side ahead.
The match turned in the 70th minute. Vinicius was involved in a counterattack and arrived in the penalty area to finish the move, celebrating passionately by kissing the Real badge as teammates gathered around him. Coach José Mourinho also ran towards the touchline to join the celebrations.
But the referee was then directed to the pitchside monitor. The review identified Vinicius pulling Saliba’s hair during the attacking sequence, away from an immediate challenge for the ball. The goal was disallowed and the Brazilian was shown a direct red card.
His angry reaction after the dismissal also formed part of the disciplinary outcome. Teammates had to restrain him as he protested the decision, while the referee recorded the incident in his report. Later on Saturday night, Vinicius apologised to his teammates and Real Madrid supporters on social media.
