Not guilty? Vinicius claims the hair pull on Saliba was a pure accident
Vinicius Junior has broken his silence on the bizarre red card that overshadowed Real Madrid's win over Villarreal, insisting through his entourage that pulling Nathan Saliba's hair was never his intention.
Details: According to ESPN Brasil, the forward told people around him that his hand accidentally got tangled in the Villarreal midfielder's hair as he was attempting to run past him during the La Liga clash on October 10. The explanation stands in stark contrast to the VAR footage, which showed Vinicius clearly grabbing and tugging Saliba's hair in the build-up to what he thought was his goal.
The incident turned a comfortable evening at the Santiago Bernabéu into a nightmare for the Brazilian. Introduced as a second-half substitute, Vinicius finally ended his goal drought by finding the net, only for VAR to intervene: referee Isidro Díaz de Mera reviewed the hair pull, disallowed the goal and showed a straight red card for violent conduct.
Real Madrid still secured a 1-0 victory thanks to Yan Diomande's strike, but the fallout continues. The referee's report stated that Vinicius protested loudly after his dismissal, approached the official aggressively and had to be restrained by his teammates, details that could aggravate the sanction under the Spanish disciplinary code.
The timing of this defense is notable. Vinicius had already issued a public apology to supporters and teammates following the match, yet with a ban of at least two LaLiga matches looming and the prospect of missing El Clásico against Barcelona on October 25, his camp is now pushing the version that the contact was unintentional.
It is worth noting that the disciplinary committee has yet to announce its final decision. If the minimum two-match suspension is confirmed, Vinicius would sit out the trip to Sevilla on October 18 and the Clásico, a scenario José Mourinho is desperately trying to avoid.
Reminder: What really happened? Referee and VAR conversation behind Vinicius' red card revealed.
Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
