The report complicates Vinicius's presence in the Clásico: "Aggressive attitude" and protests "at the top of his voice"

"The referee's report for the match between Real Madrid and Villarreal (1-0), played this Saturday at the Santiago Bernabéu, detailed the sending-off of Vinicius Júnior and the subsequent protests by the Brazilian forward. The match official, Díaz de Mera, recorded in the document both the reason for the red card and an additional incident after the player had already been sent off.

Regarding the card, the report explained that Vinicius was sent off in the 73rd minute “for pulling an opponent’s hair, with the ball in play, without the ball being contested between them” . The incident occurred in the play in which the Brazilian had sent the ball into the net, in a goal that the referee disallowed after spotting that prior infringement.

The referee added a section on “other incidents” in which he described what happened after the sending-off. “In the 73rd minute of the match, with play stopped, the local club’s number 7 player, D. Vinicius José De Oliveira Do Nascimento, after having been sent off and while still on the field of play, continued protesting my decision, shouting at the top of his voice, moving toward the area where I was with an aggressive attitude,” Díaz de Mera wrote.

After having been sent off and while still on the field of play, he continued protesting my decision, shouting at the top of his voice, heading toward the area where I was with an aggressive attitude

The referee also specified that the forward “had to be restrained by teammates” , although he clarified that he could not “make out any specific expression.” The account in the match report, together with the CTA protocol, suggests that the suspension could go beyond a single match and, therefore, Vinicius would miss the Clásico against Barcelona next October 25 . Madrid only plays one league match in between, against Sevilla , so a ban of two or more matches would leave the Brazilian out of the appointment at Camp Nou.

The report was not limited to Vinicius. The referee also showed a caution to José Mourinho and delegate Chendo , and sent off Real Madrid's goalkeeping coach, Nuno Santos , on a night of maximum tension on the white team's bench over the refereeing decisions. For Villarreal, the official sent off Xisco Nadal , Villarreal delegate.

The CTA protocol includes hair-pulling within category CV.1, that of violent conduct, which groups together actions in which a “player delivers an elbow, headbutt, punch, slap, grab by the neck, shove, kick, stomp, bite, hair pull… to an opponent or any other person without contesting the ball, using excessive force or brutality” . This type of action for violent conduct usually carries a suspension of more than one match , a punishment that would leave the Brazilian out of El Clásico against Barcelona, since in between Madrid only plays the league match against Sevilla.