Overview
- The Spanish Football Federation Appeals Committee rejected Real Madrid’s appeal and confirmed a four-match La Liga ban for Vinicius, upholding the Disciplinary Committee’s ruling.
- The suspension follows a VAR-reviewed incident on October 10 when Vinicius pulled Villarreal defender Nathan Saliba’s hair and was shown a straight red before reportedly protesting to the referee.
- The committee applied Article 130.2 for violent conduct for the hair-pull and added two matches for aggressive behaviour toward the referee, saying the referee made no clear material error.
- The ban covers only domestic league games so Vinicius remains eligible for Champions League selection while he misses fixtures against Sevilla, Barcelona, Racing Santander and Valencia.
- Real Madrid will appeal to Spain’s Administrative Court of Sport (TAD) but success is not guaranteed and the club must plan short-term tactics and selection without their key winger.