Vinicius Junior came off the bench at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, scored a goal that was promptly chalked off, and walked back down the tunnel with a straight red card before the celebrations had finished.

Referee Isidro Diaz de Mera was called to the monitor after VAR flagged a hair-pull on Villarreal’s Nathan Saliba in the build-up. He wiped the goal off and dismissed the Brazilian. Real Madrid still won 1-0, and Vinicius apologized to teammates and supporters on Instagram.

The club’s objection is not that the pull is on camera. It is that two of the clearest earlier cases of the same act never produced a card at all.

Marcelo had his hair pulled in a penalty area in 2020

In a Real Madrid versus Alaves match on 29 November 2020, Alaves defender Victor Laguardia yanked Marcelo’s hair inside the Alaves box as the Brazilian attacked a cross, Goal recounted in its review of the three incidents. Play continued, no penalty was awarded, and VAR did not intervene.

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Pitchside microphones picked up Marcelo’s protest to the referee. “He pulled my hair, man!” the defender said. The on-field official waved it away, replying that Laguardia had put a hand on him but kept running. “What a disgrace,” Marcelo answered.

Ceballos pulled Gavi’s hair in a Super Cup final

In the Spanish Super Cup final in January 2023, which Barcelona won 3-1, Real Madrid’s Dani Ceballos pulled the hair of Barcelona teenager Gavi from behind after Gavi had grabbed the ball to stop play, according to Goal. Referee Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea spoke to both players but produced no card, and VAR did not step in.

Neither of those incidents led to a retrospective ban.

‘One to crush us’

By Monday morning the comparison inside the Real Madrid dressing room had hardened into a line.

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“There are two rulebooks, one to crush us,” a club source told El Debate in a report headlined with the quote.

Manager Jose Mourinho declined all post-match press duties on Saturday, with the club reportedly reluctant to risk a federation inquiry over any remarks on the officiating.

Villarreal defender Juan Foyth was more measured.

“I don’t think he meant to hurt anyone but it is a red card,” Foyth told reporters, according to Fox Sports.

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A ban of two or three matches

Under Spanish federation rules, violent conduct with the ball out of play is treated more harshly than contact in a challenge for the ball. On that reading, the federation’s competition committee is expected to hand Vinicius a ban of two or three matches, with Real Madrid planning to appeal in the hope of two. In May 2026, Mallorca defender Johan Mojica picked up a two-match ban for a similar hair-pull on Levante’s Roger Brugué, SportBible noted.

Barcelona host Real Madrid in El Clasico at Spotify Camp Nou on Sunday, 25 October, with kickoff set for 9pm local time. Any ban of two matches or more rules Vinicius out of it.

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