Vinícius goal disallowed, red card for hair pull as Real Madrid beat Villarreal 1-0

The goal and the VAR review

Real Madrid beat Villarreal 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu on Saturday, 10 October 2026, in a La Liga match decided by a video review. Yan Diomande scored the only goal that stood, his first for Real Madrid and his third in La Liga. Vinícius Júnior, who had started on the bench, then struck to make it 2-0 after Jude Bellingham carried the ball forward on a run from midfield and played him in.

The video assistant referee asked referee Isidro Díaz de Mera to check the build-up. The review showed that Vinícius had tugged hard on the hair of Villarreal's Nathan Saliba as the two sprinted down the pitch. The referee disallowed the goal and showed Vinícius a direct red card. AP reports that Madrid played with ten men from the 73rd minute, while other reports place the incident between the 71st and 73rd minutes.

Build-up and team selection

José Mourinho left Vinícius and Marc Cucurella on the bench, according to El Confidencial, and started Diomande alongside Álvaro Carreras on the flanks. Diomande's two earlier league goals came for Leganés, against Espanyol in matchday 35 and Valladolid in matchday 38, La Razón reported. Before kick-off Madrid were fourth, six points behind leaders Barcelona, and Mediafax noted that Mourinho needed a positive result to narrow the gap.

El Confidencial described a match with little fluid football, with the double pivot in midfield slowing the play. Madrid's attacks came alive mostly when Arda Güler or Bellingham received the ball facing goal. In the first half, Villarreal struck the right post of the Madrid goal with a long-range shot, and after a strong run by Carreras, Mbappé hit the right post of the Villarreal goal from close range.

Sanction analysis

Former referee Iturralde González, an arbitration specialist for AS, considered the sending off justified given the intensity of the gesture toward Saliba. Mediafax reported his view that Vinícius risks a ban of between two and four matches, depending on how the disciplinary authorities classify the incident and on the decision of the competent committee. Mediafax described the moment as a difficult period for the Brazilian, who had not been in Mourinho's starting line.

Reaction and what comes next

LaSexta reported that Vinícius, incredulous, lost his composure and went straight at the referee after the red card, and that the match report could be decisive in determining his punishment. El Confidencial said his protests could bring a possible sanction that would keep him out of the Clásico. Mourinho had run onto the pitch to celebrate the goal with him, La Razón reported, before the decision overturned it. Any ban will depend on a disciplinary process that has not yet ruled.