Vinicius Junior faces at least two-match ban and could miss Barcelona Clasico

Vinicius Junior is expected to miss Real Madrid’s Clasico against Barcelona after the referee’s report detailed both his dismissal against Villarreal and his reaction to being shown a red card.

The disciplinary committee is due to announce its decision on Wednesday. The Brazilian was sent off in the 71st minute for pulling the hair of Villarreal defender Saliba, with the incident initially missed by referee Isidro Diaz de Mera before he was advised to review it by video assistant referee Alejandro Muniz Ruiz.

The VAR officials told Diaz de Mera that the incident could be classified as “violent conduct”. In his report, the referee wrote: “He pulled an opponent’s hair while the ball was in play, without the ball being contested between them.”

That wording is central to the possible punishment under Article 130, which deals with violent conduct. Article 130.1 allows for a suspension of between one and three matches, or for up to one month, when violent conduct takes place during play or as a direct result of an incident during play, provided it is dangerous but causes no damage or injury.

However, the reference to the ball not being contested could lead to the incident being treated under Article 130.2. That section applies when the offence happens outside the context of play, when the player is not in a position to compete for the ball, or while play is stopped. It carries a suspension of between two and three matches.

The three members of the disciplinary committee must therefore decide how to interpret the phrase “while the ball was in play, without the ball being contested between them”.

Diaz de Mera also recorded Vinicius’ behaviour after the dismissal. The report states: “After being sent off, while he was on the pitch, he continued to loudly protest my decision, moving towards the area where I was standing in an aggressive manner. His team-mates had to restrain him, and I was unable to identify any specific words he said.”

The most favourable interpretation for Vinicius would be to classify that reaction as a minor breach of sporting order. Under the relevant regulations, such conduct can result in a suspension of up to four matches or a fine of up to 602 euros, with the minimum punishment considered the most likely.

A harsher interpretation could see the reaction treated as dissent towards the officials under Article 127, which carries a ban of two to three matches or up to one month. Another possibility is that it is regarded as insulting or showing contempt towards the referee under Article 124, which carries the same range of suspension.

The minimum possible overall punishment is therefore two matches: one for the dismissal and another for his subsequent reaction. The ban could rise to four matches if the pull is judged to be violent conduct outside the context of play and two further matches are imposed for his response.

A three-match suspension is another possibility, either through a one-match ban for the dismissal plus two matches for protesting, or two matches for violent conduct and one for his reaction.

In every scenario, Vinicius would miss the Clasico against Barcelona on 25th of this month at Spotify Camp Nou.