Vinicius Junior handed four-match ban, ruled out of El Clasico

The Spanish Football Federation's disciplinary committee confirmed on Wednesday that the Brazil international had been banned for two matches for pulling Nathan Saliba's hair and a further two for his reaction to the referee.

The incident occurred during Madrid's 1-0 victory over Villarreal on Saturday. Vinicius appeared to have scored a second goal after converting Jude Bellingham's pass, but a VAR review uncovered the hair pull in the build-up, resulting in the goal being disallowed and the forward receiving a straight red card.

According to the disciplinary report, the additional suspension was imposed because Vinicius argued with the referee in an aggressive manner and had to be restrained by teammates.

The punishment rules him out of LaLiga fixtures against Sevilla, Barcelona, Racing Santander and Valencia, including the trip to Camp Nou on 25 October.

Madrid coach Jose Mourinho will therefore be without one of his key attacking players for the clash with their arch-rivals. Vinicius, who has endured a difficult start to the season, was left out of the starting line-up against Villarreal before coming off the bench.

The 25-year-old apologised to Madrid supporters on social media after the incident. The club are reportedly planning to appeal against the suspension.

However, the ban applies only to domestic competitions, meaning Vinicius remains available for Madrid's Champions League fixtures against Roma, RB Leipzig and AEK during his absence from LaLiga.

He will be eligible to return to league action after the November international break, provided the suspension remains unchanged.

Vinicius signed a new long-term contract with Madrid until 2032 recently after speculation over his future intensified during the final year of his previous deal.