Vinicius

Real Madrid forward has a goal disallowed, is sent off for the hair-pull offence and could miss the next three games.

Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr has apologised ⁠⁠to ⁠⁠his teammates and the club’s fans after being sent off in the 1-0 ⁠⁠win over Villarreal in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu but now faces a ⁠⁠nervous wait for a ruling by the disciplinary committee, which could see him miss Real’s fixture with rivals Barcelona in two weeks.

The Brazilian thought he had scored Real’s second goal in the match on Saturday, but his effort was disallowed after a video assistant referee (VAR) review found he should be dismissed for pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair in the build-up.

After the match, Vinicius, ⁠⁠who came on in the ⁠⁠52nd minute and was red-carded 20 minutes later, posted on social media, saying, “sorry to the team and the ⁠⁠fans”.

Vinicius was celebrating after scoring when referee Isidro Diaz de Mera was called by the VAR to review the moments before his goal. The referee waved off the goal and pulled out a red card for Vinicius.

When he thought Vinicius had doubled the lead, Real manager Jose Mourinho ran to join the celebrations with his players.

But moments later, Vinicius was left livid by the referee’s decision. He screamed at Diaz 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.

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

Royal Spanish Football Federation regulations state that pulling an opponent’s hair ⁠⁠is regarded as violent conduct.

The ⁠⁠sanction for violent conduct without causing injury to an opponent, according to Article 130 of the league’s rules, is a ban of one to three ‌‌matches.

Real’s next three La Liga games are against Sevilla, Barca and Racing Santander, but missing El ‌‌Clasico ‌‌would be a bitter blow for the 26-year-old Brazil international.

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

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior sent off for pulling Villarreal player’s hair in 1-0 La Liga victory.

Yan Diomande earned Real Madrid a tight 1-0 victory over Villarreal on Saturday to keep them six points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona, even though winger Vinicius Junior was sent off for hair-pulling.

Brazil international Vinicius, on as a substitute, scored, but his goal was disallowed. He was then dismissed after a VAR review showed he had pulled the hair of Villarreal’s Nathan Saliba.

Jose Mourinho’s Madrid battled through the final stages with 10 men but held on to win and go provisionally third.

Champions Barca lead La Liga after a 3-0 win over Getafe, while Atletico Madrid are five points behind in second after they edged Alaves 2-1.

Striker Kylian Mbappe was fit to start the match for Madrid at their Santiago Bernabeu stadium after suffering a knee problem playing for France during the international break.

There was a smattering of whistles for the superstar forward, with some fans believing he has been unprofessional in recent weeks, but also applause from other supporters.

Mbappe, a candidate for the Ballon d’Or trophy later this month, was Madrid’s most threatening player in the first half, although he had little competition.

Mourinho started with out-of-form winger Vinicius on the bench, following his trips to Australia and India with Brazil during the international break.

Madrid improved defensively, giving Villarreal few chances of note, but struggled to build much in attack themselves in a drab opening half.

Mbappe struck the post from Alvaro Carreras’s layoff as Madrid pushed Villarreal back early on.

Villarreal soon gained a foothold and restricted Madrid’s opportunities, until Mbappe forced a good save from Peter Gulacsi.

There was some more mild whistling for Madrid’s display from their fans at half-time, but they were soon able to celebrate summer arrival Diomande’s first goal for the club.

The Ivorian winger, Madrid’s record 140 million euro ($157m) signing, produced a sharp low finish into the far corner after good work from Federico Valverde to play him in.

Vinicius thought he had doubled Madrid’s lead after Jude Bellingham charged in down the left and cut the ball back for him.

However, the winger’s joy turned to anger after referee Isidro Diaz de Mera was called to watch Vinicius’s hair pull on Saliba in the buildup by VAR and sent off the Brazilian, voiding the goal.

Madrid’s Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who had made a couple of smart saves earlier in the half, produced an acrobatic stop to thwart Carlos Romero.

Mbappe was denied again by Hungarian goalkeeper Gulasci as the forward left the Bernabeu frustrated in his hunt for goals, although his team were able to clinch three important points to stay on Barca’s trail.

Manchester United and Liverpool keen on Crystal Palace defender Tyrick Mitchell, Aston Villa loan attacker Alejandro Garnacho on the radar of clubs in La Liga, while Bayern Munich fancy Morgan Gibbs-White.

Crystal Palace‘s English left-back Tyrick Mitchell, 27, is attracting growing interest from Manchester United and Liverpool. (Teamtalk), external

Aston Villa attacking midfielder Alejandro Garnacho is being monitored by clubs in La Liga after struggling to make an impression at Villa Park following his summer loan switch from Chelsea. (Mail plus – subscription required), external

Julian Ward is set to be reappointed as Liverpool‘s sporting director. The 45-year-old will switch from his current role as Fenway Sports Group’s technical director to replace Richard Hughes in a position he previously held during the 2022-23 season. (The Athletic), external

Bayern Munich are interested in Nottingham Forest‘s England midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, 26. (Talksport), external

Arsenal will use the September international break to finalise details over a new long-term contract for England midfielder Declan Rice, 27. (Football Transfers), external

The Gunners have the option to extend Rice’s current deal by 12 months but would like to tie him to a long-term deal in keeping with the club policy towards players seen as key by Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta. (Guardian), external

Liverpool remain firmly committed to bringing the best out of Germany attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz, 23, despite the player’s representatives being sounded out by Bayern Munich. (Teamtalk), external

Chelsea are tracking highly rated Gambian 15-year-old midfielder Adama Jeng with Bayern Munich, Benfica, Sporting and Paris FC also interested in the Samger FC youngster. (Mail plus – subscription required), external

AC Milan and Roma are keen on a loan deal for Real Madrid’s 20-year-old forward Endrick if Bernabeu president Florentino Perez is willing to let the Brazilian leave. (Calciomercato – in Italian), external

Barcelona have scouted Athletico Paranaense’s 19-year-old Brazilian Arthur Dias who was the subject of previous strong interest from Tottenham. (ESPN Brasil – in Portuguese), external

Arsenal came so close to signing Brazil forward Vinicius Jr from Real Madrid in the summer that the 26-year-old’s team-mates thought it was a foregone conclusion he would join the Gunners. (Cadena SER – in Spanish), external