The Vinicius ban will rule Real Madrid’s forward out of four league matches, including El Clasico against Barcelona, after his red card against Villarreal.
The Brazil international received two matches for violent conduct and a further two for protests towards the officials, according to BBC Sport’s report on the Spanish federation’s disciplinary decision. The Associated Press also reported the four-game suspension.
Which games does the Vinicius ban cover?
BBC Sport lists the fixtures against Sevilla on 18 October, Barcelona on 25 October, Racing Santander on 1 November and Valencia on 7 November as the matches he will miss. All four are league matches.
The Vinicius ban takes him out of the first league Clasico of the season. It is a domestic suspension, rather than a Champions League ban: Vinicius was available for Wednesday’s match against Roma.
The decision followed Madrid’s 1-0 league win over Villarreal. Vinicius came off the bench and appeared to score, but the referee reviewed the build-up on the pitchside monitor.
The review showed him pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair before the goal. The referee disallowed it and sent the Madrid forward off. The 1-0 scoreline stood.
How the four-match suspension breaks down
The Vinicius ban is split into two parts: the federation’s disciplinary committee imposed two games for “behaving violently” while not in a position to challenge for the ball, BBC Sport reported. It added another two matches for his protests.
Vinicius later apologised in a social media message, saying he was “sorry to the team and the [Real Madrid] fans”, according to the BBC report. The message came after the red card at Villarreal.
The Vinicius ban leaves Jose Mourinho without the winger for that run of league fixtures. The punishment announced this week covers the dismissal and the subsequent protests as separate parts of the decision. The four games cover Madrid’s next listed league fixtures through to 7 November.
Mourinho questions announcement timing
Mourinho criticised when his player learned of the Vinicius ban. Speaking after Madrid’s 4-3 Champions League win at Roma, he said the news had arrived about two hours before kick-off.
“Couldn’t they do it tomorrow morning?” he asked, in comments reported by BBC Sport. “It doesn’t seem normal to me.”
Those remarks were Mourinho’s complaint about the timing of the announcement. The reported decision itself remains a four-game league suspension, with Barcelona among the opponents Vinicius is set to miss. The first of the four matches is the meeting with Sevilla on 18 October.
