Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr. has issued an apology to his teammates and fans following his red card during the 1-0 victory over Villarreal in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu. He now faces a potential suspension from the disciplinary committee, which could prevent him from participating in the upcoming match against Barcelona in two weeks.
In the match on Saturday, Vinicius had a goal disallowed after a video assistant referee (VAR) review determined he should be sent off for pulling Nathan Saliba's hair in the build-up to the goal. Vinicius, who entered the game in the 52nd minute, was sent off 20 minutes later.
After the match, Vinicius expressed his regret on social media, stating, “sorry to the team and the fans.” He was celebrating what he believed was a second goal when referee Isidro Diaz de Mera was alerted by VAR to review the play. The referee subsequently ruled out the goal and issued a red card to Vinicius.
Villarreal defender Juan Foyth commented on the incident, saying, “I don’t think he meant to hurt anyone, but it is a red card.” In his match report, Diaz de Mera noted that Vinicius protested the decision aggressively and had to be restrained by teammates.
According to Royal Spanish Football Federation regulations, pulling an opponent’s hair is classified as violent conduct. The penalty for such conduct, as outlined in Article 130 of the league's rules, ranges from a one to three-match ban.
Real Madrid's next three La Liga fixtures include matches against Sevilla, Barcelona, and Racing Santander, with the absence of Vinicius in El Clasico being a significant loss for the team. Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho did not attend the post-game news conference.