Real Madrid’s Vinicius banned for Clasico after hair-pull red card

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkReal Madrid's Vinicius Junior apologised for pulling Nathan Saliba's hair but could not escape a four-match ban [File: Pablo Morano/Reuters]By Al Jazeera Staff and AFPPublished On 14 Oct 202614 Oct 2026Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior will miss the upcoming match against Barcelona in the Spanish league after being issued a four-match suspension for pulling an opponent’s hair during a La Liga game last week.The Brazilian forward will miss Madrid’s next four league fixtures, including the highly anticipated October 25 El Clasico against fierce rivals and league champions Barcelona.The Spanish federation’s disciplinary committee announced the ban on Wednesday after Vinicius received the red card against Villarreal last week.The number seven thought he had scored Real’s second goal in the match on Saturday, but his effort was disallowed after a video assistant referee (VAR) review found he should be dismissed for pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair in the build-up.The Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee confirmed the Brazilian will be banned for several matches, including the visit to face league leaders Barca, because of both the red card and his subsequent protests.After the match, Vinicius, ⁠⁠⁠⁠who came on in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠52nd minute and was red-carded 20 minutes later, posted on social media, saying, “sorry to the team and the ⁠⁠⁠⁠fans”.Vinicius was celebrating after scoring when referee Isidro Diaz de Mera was called by the VAR to review the moments before his goal. The referee waved off the goal and pulled out a red card for Vinicius, who also goes by his nickname Vini Jr.When he thought Vinicius had doubled the lead, Real manager Jose Mourinho ran to join the celebrations with his players.But moments later, Vinicius was left livid by the referee’s decision. He screamed at Diaz de Mera while his teammates tried to calm him down as he left the field.