Vinicius Handed Four-Match Ban After Red Card vs Villarreal, To Miss El Clasico

Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr. has been handed a four-match suspension following his red card in the 1-0 win over Villarreal on Saturday.

The Brazilian international started the game at the Santiago Bernabeu on the bench, before coming on in the second half.

Things seemed to be going well for the 26-year-old winger as he found the back of the net, only to see the goal get disallowed and then being shown a direct red card for a hair pull on Villarreal’s Nathan Saliba.

Vinicius’ reaction after being sent off did not help his case as he lashed out at the referee before leaving the pitch and had to be restrained by some of his teammates.

As such, the RFEF Disciplinary Committee has now confirmed a four-match ban for the Real Madrid megastar, as reported by Yahoo Sports.

Also Read: Given: Signing Vinicius Will Be A Big Risk For Arsenal

The fact that the referee’s official match report indicated that Vinicius’ pulled at the opponent’s hair while the ball was not directly in play worked against him.

As such, the Committee imposed a two-match ban for violating Article 130.2 of the RFEF disciplinary code, which refers to violent conduct during or outside of the game.

The other two matches were for violating Article 127, concerning protests to the referee. The minimum penalty was applied.

It means that Vinicius will now miss this weekend’s La Liga game against Sevilla and the all-important El Clasico against Barcelona on 25 October.

Beyond that, the 26-year-old winger will also be unavailable for selection against Racing Santander and Valencia.

His return is now expected to take place in the match against Celta Vigo on the weekend of November 20-23.

Real Madrid, for their part, are expected to lodge an appeal to try and get the ban reduced, but are unlikely to be successful.

James Agberebi is a sports content creator and analyst with a passion for football and other sports. He writes sports news, match reports, and analysis to keep fans informed about the latest developments in the sporting world. James has covered international matches involving both Nigeria’s men’s and women’s national teams. His experience covering Nigerian football gives him a good understanding of the game and the teams he writes about. Through his work with Complete Sports, James shares sports updates, match coverage, and analysis with readers in Nigeria and around the world.