Real Madrid to miss Vinicius for two games through suspension

Forward Vinicius Junior will miss Real Madrid’s next two La Liga games after being suspended for his red card in the 2-1 win over Valencia last Friday.

The Brazilian was shown a straight red card in the 79th minute of the match for striking Valencia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski in the back of the head. Vinicius continued to react angrily afterwards, and was stopped by team-mate Antonio Rudiger and goalkeeping coach Luis Llopis from confronting referee Cesar Soto Grado. Vinicius has only been sent off twice for Real Madrid, but both came at the Mestalla – he was also sent off in Madrid’s 1-0 defeat to Valencia on 21 May 2023, a match in which he had confronted a group of home fans after being racially abused.

After the match, coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted his disappointment at the red card, saying: “We think it was not a red card, it was two yellow cards. We will appeal. I don’t know if they will accept it. We think it was not a red card…” However, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on Tuesday imposed the punishment after assessing Vinicius’s behaviour. As a result, the Brazilian striker will not be able to help Real Madrid’s efforts to defend their top spot in the upcoming La Liga matches against Las Palmas and Real Valladolid. However, Vinicius will be present in the defence of the Spanish Super Cup, which begins with the semi-final against Mallorca in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Thursday. If Real Madrid reach the final, they could face Barcelona or Athletic Bilbao three days later.