Vinicius Jr came off the bench and was dramatically sent off for pulling the hair of Nathan Saliba in Real Madrid’s narrow win over Villarreal.
The Brazilian forward believed he had netted a second goal for Real, and manager Jose Mourinho celebrated along with his team from the sidelines.
The goal was subsequently disallowed, however, after the referee checked the build-up on the pitchside monitor, which clearly showed Vinicius pulling Saliba’s hair before he scored.
The referee then brandished a red card, dismissing Real’s No. 7 for violent conduct in the 72nd minute—20 minutes after he had come on for England defender Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The call infuriated Real Madrid, and Mourinho failed to appear for the mandatory post-match news conference.
Real were already ahead 1-0 thanks to teenager Yan Diomande’s first goal for the club since his August move from RB Leipzig for a fee that could reach £120m.
The 19-year-old scored in the 62nd minute, and his low finish into the far corner was initially flagged offside before being overturned following a video assistant referee (VAR) review.
Earlier in the day, leaders Barcelona had beaten Getafe 3-0, so Real needed the win to narrow the gap on the defending champions, yet they found it hard to make an impact before Diomande’s strike.
With eight matches played, Mourinho’s side, who travel to Barca on 25 October, sit six points behind the top spot.
It proved a frustrating evening for Kylian Mbappe, who squandered a couple of fine chances and was also kept out by goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi, while England midfielder Jude Bellingham picked up a booking for a foul.
According to Law 12 of the IFAB Laws of the Game, pulling an opponent’s hair counts as violent conduct, which warrants a straight red card.
The laws specify that a player who is not contesting the ball must be sent off if they clearly pull an opponent’s hair with force.
Premier League referees, however, have altered how they assess hair pulling this season, after three players were dismissed for the offense in 2025-26.
Starting this season, a red card will not be issued every time a player is seen pulling an opponent’s hair. Rather, the degree of force and the intent will be given greater weight.
Even so, Vinicius Jr’s deliberate yank of Saliba’s hair would likely have resulted in a sending-off in England as well.
In September, Antigua and Barbuda had two players sent off for hair pulling during a Concacaf Nations League match against Anguilla.
