Vinícius Gets Four-Match Ban and Will Miss Real Madrid's Clásico

Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior received a four-match La Liga suspension after pulling Villarreal defender Nathan Saliba’s hair and protesting the resulting red card. The ban covers league matches against Sevilla, Barcelona, Racing Santander and Valencia, ruling him out of the October 25 Clásico, but does not apply to the Champions League. Madrid may appeal, and Vinícius has apologized to the club and its supporters. He has scored once in nine appearances this season and has spoken about struggling with confidence; coach José Mourinho has backed him and is working with him to help restore his form.