Marc Cucurella was the loudest voice around the fourth official at the Santiago Bernabéu on Saturday, and he had come to make a point.

“I hope that if they touch a hair of mine, you show them the red card. Go to the VAR,” the Spain full-back told the official, in words transcribed from DAZN’s broadcast footage by Spanish outlets.

His team had just lost Vinícius Júnior for the rest of the night. The Brazil forward came off the bench in the 52nd minute of Real Madrid’s 1-0 win over Villarreal, briefly thought he had scored a second, and was then sent off after referee Isidro Díaz de Mera consulted the VAR monitor. The replay showed Vinícius pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair in the build-up. The goal was chalked off.

Vinícius apologised on social media after the final whistle.

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“Sorry to the team and the fans,” he wrote.

Head coach José Mourinho skipped the mandatory press conference.

Mike Dean’s 2022 apology to Cucurella

In August 2022, while he was playing for Chelsea in a 2-2 draw with Tottenham, Cristian Romero wrapped a hand into Cucurella’s hair inside the penalty area and tugged. On-field referee Anthony Taylor saw nothing. The VAR that day was Mike Dean, who later owned up to the mistake in his Daily Mail column.

“In the few seconds I had to study Romero pulling Cucurella’s hair, I didn’t deem it a violent act,” Dean wrote.

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“I should have asked Taylor to visit his pitch-side monitor to take a look.”

Cucurella, who refused to cut his hair after the incident, was just as clear at the time about what the ruling should have been.

“For me it was clear and the video was clear,” he said then.

Four years and a £51.8m transfer from Chelsea to Real Madrid later, the player he once wanted punished for a hair pull is the one he is now pleading on behalf of.

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The Clásico question

The sanction is in the hands of the Spanish Football Federation. Pulling an opponent’s hair is treated as violent conduct, with a ban of one to three matches, Al Jazeera reports. Real Madrid play Barcelona at Camp Nou on Sunday, 25 October, and anything longer than a one-match suspension would rule Vinícius out.

Villarreal defender Juan Foyth, who was on the pitch when the incident happened, offered the most measured verdict of the night.

“I don’t think he meant to hurt anyone, but it is a red card,” Foyth said.

Spain’s disciplinary committee will rule in the coming days.

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