Vinícius Júnior apologised to his Real Madrid team-mates 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 apologise to my team and its supporters,” the winger wrote, combining celebration of the victory with regret at leaving his team-mates a man down during the decisive stage of the match.
A controversial dismissal
The sending-off came in one of the most contentious moments of the evening. Having come on as a second-half substitute, Vinícius put the ball in the net and briefly appeared to have doubled Real’s lead. The referee, however, disallowed the goal, ruling that he had fouled a Villarreal defender in the build-up by pulling Saliba‘s hair during the challenge that preceded the shot.
At the same moment, the referee produced the red card and sent Vinícius off down the tunnel.
The Brazilian walked off clearly furious at the decision, gesturing in protest as he went.
Holding on with ten men
Real Madrid were then left to protect a one-goal lead with ten men. Yan Diomande had scored the only goal of the match in the 63rd minute, and his side held on to secure the three points.
Further frustration on social media
Not long afterwards, Vinícius expressed his frustration again. He shared a new post on his Instagram stories, complaining about the refereeing treatment he believes he faces 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 a collection of images from different matches in which the player believes opponents avoided a booking despite fouling him or aiming blows at him.