Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr will miss the El Clasico against Barcelona after being suspended for four matches by the Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee.
The Brazil international was sent off during Real Madrid’s 1-0 victory over Villarreal last Saturday after pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair.
His ban covers Real Madrid’s matches against Sevilla on 18 October, Barcelona on 25 October, Racing Santander on 1 November and Valencia on 7 November.
The decision was announced only hours before Real Madrid, with Vinicius in the squad, played Roma in the Champions League. That timing angered manager Jose Mourinho, who criticised the disciplinary process after his side came from behind to win 4-3.
“Do you think it’s normal that a player from a Spanish team, who has to play a match that is also important for Spanish football, that two hours before the match a player knows he’s been given a four-match suspension?” Mourinho said.
“Couldn’t they do it tomorrow morning? Do we have to come by bus and almost arrive at the stadium when we find out Vinicius has a four-match suspension?
“They do things shamelessly now. The cat is out of the bag now. Two hours before the match, a player must know he has a four-match suspension.
“A Spanish team that has earned three points for Spanish football, for the rankings, for the prestige of Spanish football. You want to kill a player two hours before the match? It doesn’t seem normal to me.”
Vinicius came on after 52 minutes against Villarreal and initially believed he had scored Real Madrid’s second goal.
The referee subsequently reviewed the incident on the pitchside monitor and saw that Vinicius had pulled Saliba’s hair before the ball went into the net. The goal was ruled out and Vinicius was shown a red card.
The disciplinary committee imposed a two-match suspension for “behaving violently … (while) not being in a position to challenge for the ball”. He was given a further two-match ban for “protests” directed at the officials.
Mourinho did not attend the post-match news conference following the Villarreal game.
Vinicius later apologised in a social media post, saying he was “sorry to the team and the [Real Madrid] fans”.
