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Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr will miss El Clasico against Barcelona after being given a four-game ban.<\/b><\/p>\n
The Brazil international was sent off for pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair in Real’s 1-0 win against Villarreal last Saturday.<\/p>\n
His suspension means he will miss games against Sevilla (18 October), Barcelona (25 October), Racing Santander (1 November) and Valencia (7 November).<\/p>\n
The timing of the decision’s announcement angered Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho, as it came hours before his side – featuring Vinicius Jr – faced Roma in the Champions League.<\/p>\n
“Do you think it’s normal that a player from a Spanish team, who has to play a match that is also important for Spanish football, that two hours before the match a player knows he’s been given a four-match suspension?” Mourinho said following their astonishing comeback to win 4-3.<\/a><\/p>\n “Couldn’t they do it tomorrow morning? Do we have to come by bus and almost arrive at the stadium when we find out Vinicius has a four-match suspension?<\/p>\n “They do things shamelessly now. The cat is out of the bag now. Two hours before the match, a player must know he has a four-match suspension.<\/p>\n “A Spanish team that has earned three points for Spanish football, for the rankings, for the prestige of Spanish football. You want to kill a player two hours before the match? It doesn’t seem normal to me.”<\/p>\n Vinicius Jr came on after 52 minutes against Villarreal and thought he had scored his side’s second goal.<\/p>\n However, the referee reviewed the build-up on the pitchside monitor and, with Vinicius clearly being shown to have pulled Saliba’s hair before scoring, sent him off and disallowed the goal.<\/p>\n The Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee suspended the winger for two games for “behaving violently … (while) not being in a position to challenge for the ball” and a further two matches for “protests” to the officials.<\/p>\n Following the match, Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho did not attend the post-match news conference.<\/p>\n Vinicius also later apologised when he posted a message on social media, saying he was “sorry to the team and the [Real Madrid] fans”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n