Vinícius to miss Clásico after four-match ban
The Spanish football federation's disciplinary committee punished the forward after his red card against Villarreal.
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Vinícius Júnior has been suspended for four league matches and will therefore miss the Clásico against FC Barcelona on 25 October. The Spanish disciplinary committee imposed two matches on the Real Madrid forward for his actions and two for protesting after the red card.
The Spanish football federation announced the sanction on Wednesday. Vinícius was sent off on Saturday during the league match against Villarreal after an incident in which he pulled Nathan Saliba's hair. The referee reported that neither player could play the ball at that moment.
Two matches of the suspension relate to the action outside a phase of play. The other two were imposed because of the way Vinícius protested to the referee after his red card. The disciplinary committee based its decision on the referee's report and the applicable provisions of the disciplinary regulations.
The punishment means Vinícius will not only miss the away match against Barcelona on 25 October. He will also miss Real Madrid's league matches against Sevilla, Racing Santander and Valencia. The suspension applies to La Liga; European matches are overseen by a different organisation and are not automatically affected by this punishment.
Real Madrid had objected to the earlier decision, but the disciplinary committee rejected those objections. According to published reports, the club may still have another avenue of appeal. Unless an appeal suspends the execution or changes the punishment, Vinícius will remain unavailable for four league matches.
For Real Madrid, the timing is significant from a sporting perspective. The Clásico is one of the most important matches on the Spanish calendar, and Vinícius is among the forwards the club regularly uses as a starter. The suspension says nothing about the outcome of the match, but it does change the squads available to both clubs.
The punishment is not the result of a new match or scoreline, but of a disciplinary decision concerning conduct on the pitch and towards the officials. The news is therefore primarily relevant to the application of Spanish disciplinary rules and to the question of how heavily comparable incidents are punished.
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The sanction and the consequences for the four named league matches have been confirmed by multiple public Spanish sources. The article makes no statement about whether the punishment is justified and describes a possible appeal cautiously.
- confirmed Vinícius Júnior received a four-match suspension. — Cadena SER and El País reported the disciplinary committee's decision. source
- confirmed He will therefore miss the Clásico on 25 October. — El País reported the date and the consequence. source
- confirmed Two matches were imposed for the action and two for protesting. — The reports quote the disciplinary committee's reasoning. source
- confirmed The suspension applies to La Liga and not automatically to European matches. — The sanction was imposed by the Spanish football federation for league matches; European competitions are governed by different disciplinary bodies. source
Editor's note
The four matches, Vinícius's absence from the Clásico and the division of the punishment have been confirmed. Any further appeal was mentioned only as a possibility; its outcome was not yet known.Sources
- Resoluciones de competición — Real Federación Española de Fútbol
- Vinicius se pierde el Clásico: cuatro partidos de sanción — Cadena SER
- Vinicius, sancionado con cuatro partidos, se perderá el clásico — El País
More on this in Dutch media
- NU.nl — „vinícius júnior”
- De Telegraaf — „vinícius júnior”
- AD — „vinícius júnior”