At the Bernabéu, a 1-0 win over Villarreal was overtaken by one flashpoint: Vinicius Junior saw a late goal erased and was sent off after pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair.
The Ligue 1 news
Real Madrid had been labouring against Villarreal in the eighth round of La Liga when Vinicius, introduced in the 52nd minute, appeared to settle the contest. Jude Bellingham supplied him in the 71st minute and the Brazilian finished, seemingly giving Madrid a second goal.
Instead, referee Isidro Diaz de Mera was called to the pitchside monitor. After reviewing the beginning of the move, he disallowed the goal and dismissed Vinicius directly for a hair pull on Saliba.
Spanish reaction was united in considering the punishment warranted. Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes described both decisions as correct, calling the incident an obvious hair pull and a violent action by the Madrid forward.
Juan Ignacio Garcia-Ochoa stressed that pulling an opponent’s hair merits a red card. He also suggested Vinicius’s reaction indicated that the player may not have known the rule, despite recent attention during the international break on two Antigua and Barbuda players dismissed for pulling Anguilla international Aedan Scipio’s hair.
Vinicius later apologised to his team-mates and supporters on Instagram. He subsequently shared a collection of images showing challenges against him that had gone unpunished, adding that he is always the one receiving yellow and red cards, accompanied by laughing emojis.
The next appointment
The Brazilian now faces the prospect of missing the Clasico against Barcelona at Camp Nou on 25 October, in the 10th league round.
Recent precedents point towards a two-match suspension: Johan Mojica received that punishment in May 2026, while Ferran Torres was banned for two games after a similar offence in January 2023. A comparable sanction for Vinicius would rule him out of Madrid’s trip to Barcelona.
