New footage circulating on Monday 12 October 2026 showed Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior pushing a La Liga employee near the video assistant referee screen as he left the Santiago Bernabéu pitch after being sent off against Villarreal.
Footage captures Vinicius pushing a VAR employee
The footage shows Vinicius heading towards the tunnel leading to the dressing rooms alongside his Brazilian team-mate Endrick after angrily protesting referee Isidro Díaz de Mera’s decision to show him a red card. Endrick attempted to calm his team-mate and guide him away from the match officials.
When the players reached the area near the video assistant referee screen and the steps to the stadium’s inner entrance, Vinicius turned towards an employee standing beside the screen and pushed him from behind before continuing to the dressing rooms. The footage was not among the main scenes shown during the match’s live television broadcast.
Vinicius goal disallowed and he is sent off against Villarreal
The incident came after a goal scored by Vinicius was disallowed, which would have given Real Madrid a 2-0 lead. Video assistant referee Alejandro Muñiz called referee Díaz de Mera to review the incident on the screen, after which the referee disallowed the goal and sent off the Brazilian forward for an earlier offence against Villarreal player Nathan Saliba. The replay showed Vinicius grabbing Saliba’s hair during a tussle before he reached the goal.
The official match data recorded the decision to disallow the goal and the red card in the 73rd minute, while several Real Madrid players had to take Vinicius away from the match officials after he protested the decision. Vinicius had started the match on the bench for the first time this season before coming on for Trent Alexander-Arnold in the 52nd minute.
About ten minutes after coming on, Ivorian Yan Diomande scored Real Madrid’s only goal in the 62nd minute, securing a 1-0 win over Villarreal in the eighth round of La Liga. Real Madrid played the rest of the match with 10 men after Vinicius was sent off, while Villarreal tried to equalise in the remaining minutes without managing to change the score.
The league’s official match page confirmed that the fixture was played on Saturday 10 October at the Santiago Bernabéu. After the match, Vinicius apologised to his team-mates and Real Madrid supporters on his official Instagram account, writing: “Happiness continues...
Sorry to my team and the fans”. His apology came after he left his team with 10 men in the final stages of the match, which ended with Real Madrid retaining their one-goal lead.
