Vinicius Jr handed four-game ban and ruled out of Barcelona clash

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr has received a four-match suspension that rules him out of the meeting with Barcelona on 25 October, BBC Sport reported. The punishment follows his dismissal for pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair during Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Villarreal, an incident that also resulted in a Real goal being disallowed.

The Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee imposed two matches for violent conduct when Vinicius was not in a position to compete for the ball, according to the BBC. It added another two for his protests to the officials. The combined sanction therefore extends beyond the dismissal itself and will keep the Brazil international out across four league fixtures.

His suspension covers Sevilla on 18 October, followed by El Clasico against Barcelona a week later. The remaining matches are against Racing Santander on 1 November and Valencia on 7 November. The Barcelona fixture comes after Real finished their win over Villarreal six points behind the league leaders, with eight matches played, according to the BBC’s match report.

Vinicius had entered the Villarreal game in the 52nd minute, replacing Trent Alexander-Arnold. He subsequently appeared to have doubled Madrid’s advantage, prompting celebrations that included manager Jose Mourinho. The referee then examined the build-up at the pitchside monitor and saw the hair pull on Saliba, reversing the apparent goal and showing Vinicius a red card in the 72nd minute.

Madrid’s winning goal had come ten minutes earlier through Yan Diomande. The teenager’s low finish was initially ruled out for offside before a video assistant referee review overturned that decision. It was his first goal for the club following his summer arrival from RB Leipzig, and it remained the only goal despite the later celebrations surrounding Vinicius.

Mourinho did not attend the post-match news conference after the victory. Vinicius later apologised on social media to his teammates and Real Madrid supporters, BBC Sport reported. The apology followed a substitute appearance that lasted just 20 minutes before his dismissal.

Barcelona had beaten Getafe 3-0 earlier on Saturday, leaving Madrid needing a win to avoid falling further behind. Real secured those points against Villarreal, but the disciplinary decision now removes Vinicius from the forthcoming meeting with the defending champions as well as three other league games.