Madrid’s attempt to shorten Vinicius Junior’s suspension has stalled at the Spanish Football Federation, leaving the Brazilian forward on course to miss the season’s first Clásico at Barcelona next weekend.
The RFEF Appeal Committee has upheld the four-match ban handed to the Real Madrid attacker after his dismissal against Villarreal. The club will now take the case to Spain’s Administrative Sports Court, the TAD, seeking to overturn or reduce the punishment.
Two separate offences behind the ban
Vinicius was sent off during the Villarreal match after pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair in a move that preceded a Real Madrid goal. The goal did not stand because of the offence.
Disciplinary officials treated the incident as two distinct violations. Vinicius received a two-game suspension for the hair pull, which occurred while the ball was in play and without the players contesting possession. A further two matches were added after referee Isidro Díaz recorded that the forward addressed him aggressively following the red card.
Real Madrid lodged its appeal on 14 October 2026. The club argued first that the referee’s report contained an obvious factual error and that the disciplinary effects of the dismissal should therefore be cancelled. As an alternative case, Madrid challenged the classification of Vinicius’s conduct and maintained that the events listed under other incidents should not produce a separate sanction.
The Appeal Committee rejected those arguments and left the original ruling intact. Madrid’s next route is an appeal to the TAD.
A difficult October and November schedule
Unless the decision is changed, Vinicius will be unavailable for four La Liga fixtures: Sunday’s meeting with Sevilla, the visit to Barcelona at Spotify Camp Nou on 25 October, an away trip to Racing de Santander on 1 November and the journey to Valencia six days later.
The absence is particularly significant for the trip across Spain to face Barcelona, where Real Madrid will have to navigate the Clásico without one of their principal attacking figures.
If the four-game penalty remains in force, Vinicius would be eligible again after November’s international break, with Celta Vigo due to visit Real Madrid during the weekend of 21 and 22 November.
