Why a tricky La Liga rule might make Vinicius Jr miss El Clasico, as referee’s comment comes to light
Vinicius Junior might avoid the harshest punishment for pulling an opponent’s hair during Real Madrid’s 1-0 win over Villarreal, but the referee’s report shows he won’t be playing in El Clasico against Barcelona.
Vinicius got a straight red card from referee Isidro Diaz de Mera Escuderos after pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair in the second half. The Brazilian had just scored to make it 2-0, but the goal was disallowed, and he was sent off. He apologized to his teammates but wasn’t happy with part of the decision, and now he’s nervously waiting to see how long his suspension will be.
The referee’s report says Vinicius was sent off for pulling an opponent’s hair “while the ball was in play, even though the ball was not in dispute between them.” This is important because it means Vinicius could get a bigger suspension—between two and three matches—since the action is considered off the ball, not just the usual one-game ban.
According to Spanish news outlet COPE, Real Madrid is ready to accept a three-match ban but plans to appeal, hoping to reduce it to two matches. Real’s manager José Mourinho didn’t do any press after the game, reportedly worried his comments could cause trouble with La Liga before upcoming big games against Sevilla and Barcelona.
Right now, Vinicius is set to miss only the Sevilla match, but if the ban is longer, he’ll miss El Clasico too, which, according to the Spanish Football Federation rules, should happen with this kind of foul.
There’s a history of hair-pulling punishments in football. For example, last May, Mallorca’s Johan Mojica got a two-match ban for pulling an opponent’s hair in La Liga. A similar case happened recently in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) when Portland Thorns player Sophia Wilson pulled an opponent’s hair off the ball and got a two-match suspension for what was called “major game misconduct.” The Thorns’ coach said Wilson tried to pull back and ended up grabbing hair.
The Spanish Football Federation rules say that violent actions during play that don’t cause injury get a suspension of one to three matches or up to a month. But if the action happens away from the ball or when play is stopped, the ban should be two to three matches.
So, Vinicius faces a tough wait to see how long he’ll be out, and it looks likely he’ll miss some important matches ahead.