Vinícius Júnior apologized to his Real Madrid teammates and the club’s supporters after being sent off in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabéu.
According to Spanish newspaper Marca, the Brazilian forward posted a short message on his Instagram account after the final whistle. He had been shown a red card in the 72nd minute. “The happiness continues. I apologize to my team and its supporters,” the winger wrote, celebrating the victory while expressing regret for leaving his team with ten men during the decisive stage of the match.
A disputed goal and a red card
The dismissal came in one of the most controversial moments of the evening. Coming on as a second-half substitute, Vinícius scored and briefly appeared to have doubled Real Madrid’s lead. The referee, however, disallowed the goal. The official ruled that he had fouled a Villarreal defender in the build-up, pulling Saliba‘s hair during the challenge that preceded the shot.
At the same moment, the referee produced a red card and sent Vinícius off down the tunnel. The Brazilian walked off clearly furious with the decision, gesturing in protest as he went.
Holding on with ten men
Real Madrid were left to protect their lead with ten players. Yan Diomande had struck the only goal of the match in the 63rd minute, and the team held on to secure the win.
A second outburst on social media
Not long afterwards, Vinícius expressed his frustration again. He shared a new post on his Instagram stories, criticizing the refereeing he believes he receives repeatedly. “The player who always gets both the yellow and the red card is Vinícius, what a disgrace,” the comment read. It was accompanied by images from different matches in which the player believes opponents avoided a booking despite fouling him or striking him.
