Vinicius sent off for pulling opponent’s hair in Madrid’s 1-0 win over Villarreal

Vinicius Jr. Pic/AFP

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior was sent off with a direct red card for pulling the hair of a Villarreal player in their La Liga game here on Saturday.

Vinicius was celebrating after scoring for Madrid when referee Isidro Diaz de Mera was called by the video assistant to review the build-up to his goal, wherein Vinicius was seen tugging hard on the hair of Nathan Saliba, for which he was subsequently sent off.

Madrid hung on for a 1-0 victory despite playing with 10 men from the 73rd minute. Vinicius asked for forgiveness from his team and fans on social media, without mentioning Saliba.

"Sorry to my team and my fans," Vinicius wrote on Instagram in Spanish. Vinicius had come on as a second-half substitute shortly before Yan Diamonde (63rd min) put Madrid ahead.

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