Spanish media: Real Madrid believe Vinicius's hair pull was unintentional, expect three-match ban

According to Spanish media outlet OKDiario, Real Madrid expects Vinicius to receive a three-match suspension following his red card against Villarreal at the Bernabéu. If this sanction is upheld, he will miss the Clásico against Barcelona.

Real Madrid made this assessment after reviewing the referee's report submitted by head referee Isidro Díaz de Mera. The report documented both Vinicius pulling Saliba's hair and his subsequent protest of the decision. The club believes the disciplinary committee will impose a two-match ban for the hair-pulling incident and an additional one-match ban for his reaction after receiving the red card.

The incident occurred in the 72nd minute. Vinicius had scored what appeared to be Real Madrid's second goal, but VAR intervened to review his action of pulling Saliba's hair at the start of the attacking play. Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz, the VAR referee, told Díaz de Mera: "Isidro, I recommend you review this at the monitor to determine if there was violent conduct during this goal-scoring play."

When the head referee approached the monitor, Pulido Santana stated: "Based on the footage, Vinicius pulled the Villarreal player's hair."

Díaz de Mera then decided: "My decision is to award a foul, restart play with a free kick, and show a red card to the home team's number 7."

Vinicius's troubles did not end with the red card. Díaz de Mera noted in his report that Vinicius continued protesting loudly and approached the referee in an aggressive manner, requiring teammates to restrain him. The referee also noted that he did not clearly hear what Vinicius said. This part of the report could result in a harsher penalty, leading to the three-match ban Real Madrid anticipates.

Real Madrid is very unhappy about this situation internally. However, their primary complaint is not with the red card itself, as the club understands that such conduct warrants a penalty. Instead, they are dissatisfied with the performance of the two assistant referees and the fourth official throughout the match, whose conduct Real Madrid found dismissive. Players and coaching staff discussed the refereeing team's performance in the locker room and expressed their frustration. Furthermore, Real Madrid's comparison of two similar incidents has caused strong discontent: they cannot understand why pulling hair resulted in a sending-off, while a recent aggressive tackle on Valverde went unpunished.

Vinicius, however, denies intentionally pulling hair. He maintained that he never meant to pull Saliba's hair, but rather his hand accidentally became caught in it. The club supports this explanation, believing Vinicius would not deliberately commit such an action.

Nevertheless, Real Madrid recognizes that the referee's report puts Vinicius in a difficult position, and his absence from the Barcelona match is likely. The final decision rests with the disciplinary committee. Since disciplinary regulations impose different penalties depending on how the action and subsequent protests are interpreted, the three-match ban is not yet official.

Real Madrid is preparing for the Clásico as if Vinicius will be unavailable. If the three-match ban is ultimately imposed, Vinicius will also miss next weekend's match against Sevilla at the Bernabéu and the away fixture against Racing Santander at El Sardinero.

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