‘Shameless’ – Mourinho critical of Vinicius Jr ban timing

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr will miss El Clasico against Barcelona after being given a four-game ban.

The Brazil international was sent off for pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair in Real’s 1-0 win against Villarreal last Saturday.

His suspension means he will miss games against Sevilla (18 October), Barcelona (25 October), Racing Santander (1 November) and Valencia (7 November).

The timing of the decision’s announcement angered Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho, as it came hours before his side – featuring Vinicius Jr – faced Roma in the Champions League.

“Do you think it’s normal that a player from a Spanish team, who has to play a match that is also important for Spanish football, that two hours before the match a player knows he’s been given a four-match suspension?” Mourinho said following their astonishing comeback to win 4-3.

“Couldn’t they do it tomorrow morning? Do we have to come by bus and almost arrive at the stadium when we find out Vinicius has a four-match suspension?

“They do things shamelessly now. The cat is out of the bag now. Two hours before the match, a player must know he has a four-match suspension.

“A Spanish team that has earned three points for Spanish football, for the rankings, for the prestige of Spanish football. You want to kill a player two hours before the match? It doesn’t seem normal to me.”

Vinicius Jr came on after 52 minutes against Villarreal and thought he had scored his side’s second goal.

However, the referee reviewed the build-up on the pitchside monitor and, with Vinicius clearly being shown to have pulled Saliba’s hair before scoring, sent him off and disallowed the goal.

The Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee suspended the winger for two games for “behaving violently … (while) not being in a position to challenge for the ball” and a further two matches for “protests” to the officials.

Following the match, Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho did not attend the post-match news conference.

Vinicius also later apologised when he posted a message on social media, saying he was “sorry to the team and the [Real Madrid] fans”.