Exemplary sanction for Vinícius: the Brazilian will miss the classic (and more matches)

BarcelonaReal Madrid's Brazilian forward Vinícius Júnior will have to serve a four-match suspension for his straight red card expulsion in the last La Liga matchday against Villarreal. This means he will miss the El Clásico against Barça at the Camp Nou on Sunday, October 25th.

The Disciplinary Committee of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) sanctioned the Brazilian this Wednesday for his expulsion on Saturday in the 73rd minute of the duel against Villarreal "for pulling the hair" of Nathan Saliba –as recorded in the referee's report, he did so "with the ball in play, without the ball being in dispute between them"– and for approaching the referee with an "aggressive attitude" after the red card, according to the report by referee Isidro Díaz de Mera Escuderos.

With this sanction, the Real Madrid player will be out for the next match, this Sunday against Sevilla, in the Clásico in Barcelona, and in the following championship matchdays against Racing in Santander on November 1st and against Valencia at Mestalla on the 7th. The Real Madrid legal department is already preparing an appeal.

Why did Vinícius have to be sanctioned with more than one match?

The drafting of the referee's report was particularly detrimental to the interests of the white team. The referee from La Mancha described the reason for the expulsion. The Referees' Committee manual considers that violent conduct occurs when “a player uses an elbow, a headbutt, a punch, a slap, grabs by the neck, pushes, kicks, bites, or pulls hair… an opponent or any other person without disputing the ball, using excessive force or brutality”. This was already, at a minimum, two to three matches.

The RFEF Disciplinary Code is especially clear in these cases. Article 121 establishes that direct expulsions entail, as a general rule, a minimum of a one-match suspension, but raises the punishment to a minimum of two when the footballer has no possibility of disputing the ball. Furthermore, Article 130, which regulates violent conduct, provides for sanctions of two to three matches when the action occurs outside of play or without the possibility of disputing the ball.

The Brazilian's situation has also been complicated by his reaction after the expulsion. Díaz de Mera noted that “with the game stopped, Vinícius, after having been sent off, and while he was still on the field of play, continued to protest my decision by shouting, heading towards the area where I was with an aggressive attitude, to the point that he had to be held back by some of his teammates, without me being able to identify any specific expression". Although this circumstance did not automatically imply an additional sanction, it did leave open the possibility that the Disciplinary Committee would also assess the footballer's subsequent behavior.