The goal that was disallowed

Vinícius Júnior came on as a 52nd-minute substitute in Real Madrid's 1-0 LaLiga win over Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabéu on Saturday. Reuters reports he thought he had scored Real's second goal, but the effort was ruled out after a VAR review found he should be dismissed for pulling Nathan Saliba's hair in the build-up. AP describes him tugging hard on Saliba's hair as the two sprinted down the field, and reports that Madrid were left with 10 men from the 73rd minute. Yan Diomande, who joined Madrid from RB Leipzig in the summer according to Der Tagesspiegel, had scored the goal that gave Real the lead earlier in the second half. Dpa places the disallowed goal's celebration around the 72nd minute, while Focus places the red card in the 73rd minute.

Apology and the referee's report

After the final whistle Vinícius posted on social media, and Reuters reports that he wrote "sorry to the team and the fans". Der Tagesspiegel notes that his Instagram post did not name Saliba. The referee's match report, cited by La Razón, describes what happened next in these words:

“Play being stopped, Vinícius, after having been sent off and while still on the pitch, continued to protest my decision at the top of his voice, heading toward the area where I was standing with an aggressive attitude, and had to be held back by his teammates, without my being able to make out any specific expression.”

The report also records the hair pull as taking place without the ball being in dispute between the two players, a detail La Razón links to a possible longer ban.

Mourinho's boycott

Real coach José Mourinho was furious with the decision, according to Przegląd Sportowy, which reports that he skipped the post-match press conference after journalists waited more than 40 minutes. Focus reports that Mourinho ran to the corner flag to celebrate the goal before the video assistant intervened. Przegląd Sportowy says he declined to speak because he wanted to be on the bench for the games against Sevilla and Barcelona, and that he feared a suspension over his comments. The same report says Real's win leaves them six points behind Barcelona.

What the sanctions could mean

The disciplinary committee has yet to rule. Reuters cites Article 130 of the Spanish federation rules, under which violent conduct without injury to an opponent carries a ban of one to three matches. La Razón cites Article 121 for direct red cards, which brings a suspension of at least one match, and of at least two matches when the player had no chance to play the ball. La Razón also lists Articles 124 and 126 for the protests after the sending-off, which carry suspensions of two to three matches and one to three matches respectively. Real's next three LaLiga games are against Sevilla on Sunday, Barcelona on 25 October at Camp Nou, and Racing Santander.

Background

Focus reports that Vinícius had faced sustained criticism of his performances for weeks, and that a Marca report linked his place on the bench to heavy international duty. It was the first time since 4 April that he had not started for Real. Der Tagesspiegel recalls that several fans were convicted last year of racist abuse aimed at the forward, some receiving suspended prison sentences. It also reports that Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni allegedly racially insulted him in a Champions League match in February, after which Prestianni was suspended.