Vinicius scores, goal disallowed and then shown red card for pulling opponent’s hair

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, right, leaves the pitch after being shown a red card during the La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Villarreal in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

It was a roller coaster night for Real Madrid in their 1-0 win over Villareal on Saturday in La Liga. Their star player Vinicius Jr was sent off for pulling the hair of an opponent but the moments leading up to the red card being shown is what has dominated the headlines since.

The Brazilian scored and manager Jose Mourinho running to the huddle of players to join the celebrations. However, this was followed by the goal being chalked off after a VAR review and Vinicius being shown a red card for pulling the hair of an opponent in the run-up to scoring. All of it was followed by Mourinho cancelling his post-match press conference.

Vinicius had gone on as a second-half substitute shortly before Yan Diamonde put Madrid ahead. Had his goal stood, it would’ve been Madrid’s second of the night. However, replays did clearly show that he had tugged hard on the hair of Villarreal’s Nathan Saliba when they were sprinting down the field.

Vinicius was visibly stunned and livid when the referee walked back from the pitch side monitor and produced a red card, with his teammates having to pull him away from the official. However, he later apologised to Madrid fans. “Sorry to my team and my fans,” Vinicius wrote on Instagram in Spanish.

“I don’t think he meant to hurt anyone but it is a red card,” Villarreal defender Juan Foyth said about the hair yank of Saliba. According to AP, referee Diaz de Mera wrote in his match report that after being shown the red card Vinicius “protested my decision, raising his voice, toward where I was standing in an aggressive manner, and being held back by teammates.” Madrid visits Barcelona in two rounds. So he could potentially miss the clasico if the disciplinary commission adds to a mandatory one-game suspension.