Vinícius Jr sent off for pulling Saliba’s hair, goal wiped out by VAR

Vinícius Júnior went from match-winner to villain in minutes: his goal against Villarreal was disallowed and he was shown a straight red card after VAR spotted him yanking Nathan Saliba’s hair. Real Madrid still won 1-0.

Vinícius Júnior’s night at the Santiago Bernabéu lasted barely 20 minutes. Left on the bench by José Mourinho, the Brazilian came on early in the second half of Saturday’s LaLiga game against Villarreal with the score at 0-0.

Yan Diomandé put Real Madrid ahead with his first goal for the club in the 62nd minute, and Vinícius appeared to double the lead roughly nine minutes later, finishing a fast break set up by Jude Bellingham.

Vinícius Jr, Nathan Saliba and Arda Güler on the touchline during Real Madrid vs Villarreal

Caught by the monitor

The celebrations were short-lived. VAR called the referee to the screen, where replays showed Vinícius grabbing and pulling Villarreal defender Nathan Saliba’s hair at the start of the move. The goal was ruled out and Vinícius was sent off in the 72nd minute, leaving furious as teammates tried to calm him. Madrid held on with 10 men.

Vinícius later apologized on Instagram, saying sorry to his teammates and Real Madrid fans.

Vinícius Júnior (file, 2025)

A Clásico in doubt

Spanish media say the incident is likely to be treated as violent conduct away from the ball, which under Article 103.2 of the federation’s disciplinary code carries a two- to three-match ban. That would rule him out of the trip to Sevilla on Oct. 18 and the Clásico at Camp Nou on Oct. 25, with Madrid already six points behind leaders Barcelona.