Vinicius Jr is in serious danger of missing El Clásico after being sent off for pulling William Saliba's hair, with his participation in the fixture now considered highly unlikely.
The incident happened in the 70th minute, during a Real Madrid counterattack. Vinicius grabbed Saliba by the hair with no possibility of challenging for the ball, apparently trying to stop him. The incident initially went unnoticed, play continued and the move ended in a goal, but VAR intervened to alert referee Díaz de Mera Escuderos to what had happened.
The referee went to the pitchside monitor and, after watching several replays, showed Vinicius a straight red card. Vinicius and his teammates reacted with disbelief, and their protests were described as particularly forceful. Whether there are any aggravating circumstances will depend on the referee's report, with the possibility of extra punishment if Vinicius is found to have verbally abused the referee while protesting.
Based on the incident alone, the expected suspension is likely to fall between two and three games under Article 103.2 of the disciplinary code, which states: "Violent conduct outside the normal course of play, when the player is not in a position to challenge for the ball or play has stopped, shall be punished with a suspension of two to three games."
Spanish football tends to favour the minimum sanction within that range, which would mean a two-game ban for Vinicius. That number matches the games Real Madrid have remaining before El Clásico, meaning the suspension could cost him the fixture.
Iturralde González, a referee expert for AS and Cadena SER, said any appeal from Real Madrid is unlikely to succeed, given that Vinicius pulled Saliba's hair while the ball was not in play.
