Vinicius handed four-match ban, will miss El Clásico

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior has been suspended for four La Liga matches, ruling him out of the October 25 El Clásico against Barcelona, after his dismissal in a match against Villarreal. The Spanish Football Federation’s disciplinary committee imposed two matches for violent conduct and two for protesting after the red card. The ban covers Real Madrid’s next league fixtures against Sevilla, Barcelona, Racing Santander and Valencia. The October 25 match against Barcelona is the second of those four games. The suspension applies to La Liga, according to the reported ruling. Vinicius was sent off during Real Madrid’s 1-0 victory over Villarreal after a video assistant referee review of an incident involving Villarreal defender Nathan Saliba. Reports say the review found Vinicius had pulled Saliba’s hair in the buildup to what appeared to be a goal. The goal was disallowed and Vinicius received a red card. The disciplinary committee treated the incident and Vinicius’s reaction to the dismissal as separate offences. It imposed the first two-match suspension for violent conduct while not challenging for the ball, then added two matches for protests against officials.