Consequences of the sending-off: will Vinicius miss the Clasico?
The referee's report strongly condemns the Brazilian's conduct
The referee's report on Real Madrid against Villarreal has laid bare the sanctions now facing Vinicius Junior, sent off for pulling the hair of an opposing player and then reacting furiously to the red card. The upshot could be his absence from the upcoming Clasico against Barcelona.
According to Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo", referee Isidro Diaz de Mera filed his report on Real Madrid v Villarreal in the early hours of this morning. It details Vinicius Junior's dismissal for pulling the hair of Saliba, the Yellow Submarines defender, in the 71st minute.
The referee did not send him off straight away. He reviewed the incident on the video assistant technology after an alert from Alejandro Munoz Ruiz.
On the audio recording, the officials in the VAR room told the referee on the pitch that the incident fell under "violent conduct".
Diaz de Mera, who hails from Castilla-La Mancha, wrote in his report: "pulling the hair of an opponent with the ball in play, without the ball being in contention between them".
That wording opens the door to two possible sanctions under Article 130, which deals with violence, with the disciplinary committee set to rule on Wednesday.
The first is a one-match ban, drawn from the first paragraph of that article: "committing violent conduct during play or as a direct result of one of the situations occurring during it, provided that the act involves danger without resulting in damage or injuries, is punished with a suspension of one to three matches, or for a period of up to one month".
Yet the report also notes the incident happened "without the ball being in contention between them". That phrasing opens the door to a two-match ban under the second paragraph of the same article: "if the act described in the previous paragraph occurs outside the framework of play, when the player is not in a position allowing him to compete for the ball, or during a stoppage in play, it is punished with a suspension of two to three matches".
So the three members of the disciplinary committee must decide exactly what the referee meant by: "with the ball in play, without the ball being in contention between them".
The report also captures the Brazilian's angry reaction to the red card. The referee wrote: "after his sending off, and while he was on the pitch, he continued to protest against my decision in a loud voice, heading towards the area where I was standing in an aggressive manner, and his team-mates had to hold him back, without my being able to identify any particular phrase that came from him".
Several outcomes are possible here. The kindest to Vinicius is to treat his behaviour as conduct contrary to sporting regulations, an offence carrying a ban of one to four matches, with the minimum penalty the likelier call.
The rules state: "shall be punished with a suspension of up to four matches, or with a fine of up to 602 euros, anyone who commits conduct contrary to sporting regulations, where such conduct is classified as a minor offence".
The worst scenario for Vinicius sees his conduct classified as protests against the referees under Article 127 of the disciplinary code, which states: "protesting against the main referee, the assistant referees or the fourth official, unless this constitutes a more serious offence, is punished with a suspension of two to three matches, or for a period of up to one month".
Another option treats the player's conduct as an insult to or disdain for the referee under Article 124: "addressing the referees, officials or sporting authorities with phrases or conduct involving disdain or disrespect, unless this constitutes a more serious offence, is punished with a suspension of two to three matches, or for a period of up to one month".
Either of those starts at two matches. Weighing up all the data, the minimum potential sanction would be a two-match ban: one for the dismissal, another for his reaction.
The ban could stretch to four, though, if his conduct counts as violent conduct outside the framework of play, with two more matches tacked on for his reaction to the red card.
The middle ground is a three-match ban. That comes either from one match for the sending off and two for his protests, or two matches for the violent conduct plus one for his reaction.
Whatever the committee decides, Vinicius will sit out the Clasico against Barcelona, set for the 25th of this month at the "Spotify Camp Nou".
