New Delhi, October 15, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior has criticised La Liga for announcing his four-match domestic suspension just two hours before the club’s UEFA Champions League fixture against Roma on Thursday.
The Brazilian winger will miss Real Madrid’s upcoming La Liga matches, including the highly anticipated El Clasico against Barcelona, following his straight red card during last weekend’s league encounter against Villarreal.
“I only heard about it at the stadium. I think the ban came at a bad time. They had all day to announce the suspension, and just as I got to the stadium, I got the message that I was going to miss four La Liga games,” Vinicius said, as quoted by Goal.com.
The forward also questioned the communication surrounding the disciplinary regulations, claiming that players had not been adequately informed about the rule that resulted in his suspension.
“I don’t understand why. The truth is that the rule is new. They’ve never explained this to us. Someone from LaLiga always comes in, or from whatever the refereeing organisation is called, to explain the new rules to us. But this time, this specific thing, nobody told us about it,” he added.
Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho also criticised the timing of the announcement, arguing that the authorities could have communicated the decision the following morning rather than shortly before a major European fixture.
“Couldn’t they do it tomorrow morning? 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. You want to kill a player two hours before the match? It doesn’t seem normal to me,” Mourinho told reporters after the match.
The suspension stems from a controversial incident during Real Madrid’s 1-0 league victory over Villarreal. Vinicius was sent off after pulling the hair of opponent Nathan Saliba. The incident occurred after the Brazilian had a goal disallowed following a VAR review.
The timing of the disciplinary announcement has drawn criticism from both the player and the Real Madrid coach, with Vinicius questioning why the decision was communicated so close to the Champions League fixture.
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