Vinicius Junior handed 4-match ban for hair-pulling incident: Details here
What's the story
Real Madrid's star forward, Vinicius Junior has been handed a four-match suspension by the Spanish Football Federation. The ban comes after his red card during Real's 1-0 victory over Villarreal last Saturday. The Brazilian international was sent off for pulling Nathan Saliba's hair in a controversial incident that also saw his goal disallowed after a VAR review. Here's more.
Suspension specifics
Vinicius to miss Real Madrid's crucial fixtures
Vinicius four-match ban includes two games for "behaving violently... (while) not being in a position to challenge for the ball" and another two matches for "protests" against the officials.
The suspension means he will miss Real Madrid's upcoming matches against Sevilla (October 18), Barcelona (October 25), Racing Santander (November 1), and Valencia (November 7).
His absence from these fixtures could significantly affect Real Madrid's performance, especially in the high-stakes El Clasico against Barcelona.
Club reaction
Mourinho skipped press conference; player apologized
Following the incident, Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho skipped the post-match press conference.
Vinicius later took to social media to apologize for his actions, expressing regret toward his team and the fans.
Despite the club's appeal for a reduced ban, which they deemed excessive, it was rejected by Spain's Competition Committee.
The ruling stands as of now, keeping Vinicius out of this season's first EL Clasico encounter against Barcelona at Camp Nou on October 25.