Real Madrid is gonna be without Vinicius Junior for four league matches, and yeah, that includes the massive “clasico” against Barcelona. Why? Because the dude got himself a straight red card for pulling an opponent’s hair this past Saturday. Talk about a costly moment.
The Hair-Pull Heard Round La Liga
It all went down in their 1-0 win over Villarreal. Vinicius was sprinting down the field, got into it with Villarreal’s Nathan Saliba, and next thing you know, he’s tugging hard on Saliba’s hair. This happened in the 73rd minute. And get this: Vinicius actually scored a goal moments before getting the red card, but that was ruled out too. Double whammy. You gotta wonder what was going through his head in that moment, because that kind of heat-of-the-moment decision just blew up in his face.
Screaming at the Ref Just Piles On the Pain
The Spanish soccer federation’s disciplinary committee didn’t waste any time, dropping this bomb shortly before Madrid’s Champions League match at Roma. The four-match suspension isn’t just for the hair-pulling, though. That part was two matches. The other two? For his absolutely aggressive protests to referee Isidro Díaz de Mera. Apparently, Vinicius was screaming at Díaz de Mera as he left the field, with his teammates practically holding him back. Díaz de Mera himself wrote in his match report that Vinicius “protested my decision, raising his voice, toward where I was standing in an aggressive manner, and being held back by teammates.” Yikes, not a good look, man. That kind of behavior just adds fuel to the fire and clearly didn’t do him any favors with the disciplinary board.
So, what’s he missing? He’s out for Sunday’s home match against Sevilla. Then he misses that huge trip to Barcelona for the “clasico” the following week. And if that wasn’t enough, he’s also sidelined for away games at Racing Santander and Valencia. Losing a player like Vinicius for four league games, especially the “clasico,” is a massive blow for Real Madrid. They’re gonna feel that absence hard, and you know Barcelona is probably licking their chops at the thought of facing Madrid without one of their key attackers.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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