Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior will miss the upcoming El Clasico against Barcelona after receiving a four-match suspension from the Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee on Wednesday following his dismissal against Villarreal. The Brazilian striker was sent off last week after pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair in La Liga’s Real Madrid clash.
The disciplinary panel then slapped a two-match suspension for violent conduct while not challenging for the ball, as well as a two-match suspension for protesting at the officials. The punishment measures see Vinicius miss out on the likes of Real Madrid going to Barcelona on October 25th. He will also miss out on games against Sevilla on October 18, Racing Santander on November 1 and Valencia on November 7. The incident picked up after the referee looked at the play through video assistant referee (VAR).
Vinicius was furious after being released from the match and had to be calmed by team-mates as he lashed out at referee Isidro Diaz de Mera. The decision also denied Saliba a goal after he was involved in a clash with Vinicius. The winger was sacked but Real Madrid managed to win 1-0 against Villarreal. The outcome maintained the fourth position of the CL club, six points behind leaders Barcelona. Vinicius is a crucial omission for Madrid ahead of one of Spanish football’s most closely-monitored match-ups.
The 26-year-old has been a valuable attacking figure for the club and will be a big loss to them when the opponents come in. Jose Mourinho also voiced his discontent with the officials in Villarreal’s game. He looked very disgruntled after the game when he refused to attend a press conference following the match. Barcelona will be forced to deal with Madrid without Vinicius as the Clasico is fast approaching, but the winger will be serving the rest of his suspension in the remaining league matches.
