Real Madrid’s Vinícius red-carded for pulling hair of Villarreal player

MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior was sent off with a direct red card for pulling the hair of a Villarreal player in their La Liga game on Saturday.

Vinícius was celebrating after scoring for Madrid when referee Isidro Díaz de Mera was called by the video assistant to review the moments before his goal.

The referee waived off the goal and pulled out a red card for Vinícius for having tugged hard on the hair of Villarreal’s Nathan Saliba when they were sprinting down the field.

Madrid hung on for a 1-0 victory despite playing with 10 men from the 73rd minute.

Vinícius asked for forgiveness from his team and fans on social media, without mentioning Saliba.

“Sorry to my team and my fans,” Vinícius wrote on Instagram in Spanish.

Vinícius had gone on as a second-half substitute shortly before Yan Diamonde put Madrid ahead. When he thought Vinícius had doubled the lead, Madrid manager Jose Mourinho ran to join the celebrations with his players.

But moments later Vinícius was left livid by the referee’s decision. He screamed at Díaz de Mera while his teammates tried to calm him down as he left the field.

“I don’t think he meant to hurt anyone but it is a red card,” Villarreal defender Juan Foyth said about the hair yank of Saliba.

Díaz de Mera wrote in his match report that after being shown the red card Vinícius “protested my decision, raising his voice, toward where I was standing in an aggressive manner, and being held back by teammates.”

Madrid visits Barcelona in two rounds. So he could potentially miss the clasico if the disciplinary commission adds to a mandatory one-game suspension.

Mourinho did not appear at the mandatory post-game press conference.

Vinícius has led fight against racism

Vinícius also became one of the leading voices against racism in Spain after he was repeatedly targeted by racist slurs by opposing fans during away games.

But he has also earned the reputation of a player who goads and trash talks opposing players, sometimes to the point where he could lose focus on the game, an attitude which sometimes tested the patience of his coaches.

First goal for Diomande

Diomande broke through for Madrid just when Villarreal was also pressing for goal, scoring in the 62nd minute.

The 19-year-old Ivory Coast winger has been under pressure to prove he is worth the reported 125 million euros ($146 million) Madrid paid Leipzig in August. Mourinho has asked fans to be patient with the young player.

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The Associated Press