Double Standards Against Vini / No. 7, La Liga Referees' Public Enemy No. 1!

A comparison of two similar hair-pulling incidents involving Vinícius Júnior has sparked heated debate over referee judgment and double standards.

According to "Sports Three", in January 2025, during the match against Valencia at the Mestaya Stadium, Stole Dimitrowski, the opponent's goalkeeper, approached Vinicius from behind, who had braided hair at the time, and pulled his hair. However, after reviewing the scene by the video assistant referee, the referee only voted to send off the Real Madrid forward for his physical reaction and the Valencia goalkeeper was not given a special penalty.

Now, during the recent match between Real Madrid and Villarreal, a similar scene was repeated, with the difference that this time Vinicius himself faced a direct red card from the referee for pulling Nathan Saliba's hair during a scene without the ball, and his team's goal was also disallowed. After this decision, this Brazilian number 7 strongly protested the referee and went to the locker room with Antonio Rudiger and other teammates to avoid further tension.

These two events are reminiscent of bitter and controversial memories for Real Madrid fans. During the Mestalla incident, Carlo Ancelotti strongly protested the refereeing decisions and believed that both players should have been treated equally. Vinicius also apologized to his teammates at that time and after the game by publishing a message on social networks and tried to keep his focus on the matches.

Nevertheless, the repetition of these sidelines and disciplinary suspensions has once again put this player's name in the media's attention. Critics and fans of the club believe that the line of referees has not always been the same for similar mistakes and such decisions can affect the fate of the team's critical matches.

After his recent dismissal, the Brazilian striker of Real Madrid once again apologized to the technical staff, players and fans to show that he intends to prevent the repetition of such situations in the future, but this dispute continues among refereeing experts.