Real Madrid anger grows over Vinicius red card and Valverde incident

Real Madrid remain unhappy with the refereeing decisions surrounding their hard-fought victory over Villarreal, with players questioning what they see as inconsistent treatment of contentious incidents.

According to Spanish newspaper Marca, frustration continued inside the Real Madrid dressing room at the Santiago Bernabeu after Saturday’s win. The dismissal of Vinicius Junior was central to the debate, but players also compared it with an incident involving Fede Valverde in the previous derby, when they felt VAR failed to intervene.

Several Real Madrid players accepted that Vinicius could have been punished, but were surprised that similar incidents had not been reviewed when the decision might have favoured their side.

One player said after the match against Villarreal, known as the Yellow Submarine: “Pulling someone’s hair cannot lead to a red card, while the challenge on Valverde in the previous match goes unpunished.”

The disciplinary figures added to the players’ frustration. Real Madrid were shown five yellow cards and one red despite committing only eight fouls. Villarreal, by comparison, received two yellow cards after being penalised for 13 offences.

Players were also angered by what they described as an “arrogant” attitude from assistant referee Diaz de Mera and the fourth official. Jose Mourinho was involved in several exchanges with them during the match and finished the game furious.

He subsequently decided not to attend the post-match news conference. Mourinho told people close to him: “I will not speak because I want to be on the bench for my matches against Sevilla and Barcelona.”

Vinicius and Konate incidents

Vinicius was inevitably the player most affected by the evening’s events. Although he began the match on the bench, his introduction gave Real Madrid’s attack fresh impetus before the incident that dominated the post-match discussion.

The Brazil international told team-mates that his contact with Saliba had been accidental and that he had not intended to hurt the Villarreal player. Saliba continued playing during the attack, which ended with the Brazilian forward’s goal being disallowed.

Real Madrid’s players accepted Vinicius’ explanation. “He is not capable of doing that,” they said.

However, because Diaz de Mera included details of the incident in his report, Real Madrid expect Vinicius to miss the next Clasico against Barcelona on 25 October. The club believes the suspension is likely to be at least two matches, even if an appeal against the decision succeeds.

Real Madrid will also appeal against the yellow card shown to Konate in the closing stages for an alleged foul on Gerard Moreno. Footage appears to show that the defender did not touch the Villarreal striker, leaving the club confident the booking should be overturned.

If the punishment is upheld, it will be Konate’s fourth yellow card in only eight La Liga matches. Last season, he received seven yellow cards in 36 Premier League appearances.