A sending-off instead of a goal! Vinicius produced a foolish outburst against Villarreal. VIDEO

Vinicius Junior was at the center of a controversial incident in the eighth-round La Liga clash between Real Madrid and Villarreal. The Brazilian finally ended his goal drought, but moments later turned his evening into a nightmare by receiving a straight red card.

Vinicius came on in the 52nd minute. Twenty minutes later, the winger found the back of the net to score his first goal for the club since August. However, the joy of the Madrid supporters was short-lived: the referee disallowed the goal and sent the Brazilian off.

The reason for such a harsh decision was the player's conduct during the attacking move. Vinicius pulled Villarreal defender Nathan Saliba by the hair. The referee deemed the incident unsporting conduct and showed the forward a straight red card.

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The Brazilian was furious with the referee's decision and reacted emotionally to his dismissal, aggressively trying to prove his point to the official. At the same time, Vinicius's foul looked obvious and utterly bizarre, as there was no need to break the rules—the incident occurred in the middle of the pitch.