Vinicius Jr handed four-match ban and will miss season's first El Clasico

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr has been suspended for four matches by the Spanish Football Federation's disciplinary committee for pulling the hair of Villarreal defender Nathan Saliba during a LaLiga clash, ruling him out of the season's first El Clasico on October 26.

The committee's report covering the eighth round of LaLiga fixtures imposed a two-match ban for the red-card offence and added two more matches for his protests towards the referee, meaning Vinicius will miss Real Madrid's league games against Sevilla, Barcelona, Racing Santander and Valencia. Vinicius has started all but one of Real's matches this season; the Spanish side have lost two of their eight league games and sit fourth, six points behind Barcelona.

Vinicius was sent off during Real Madrid's 1-0 victory over Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday after coming on as a substitute in the 52nd minute and being dismissed around 20 minutes later following a VAR review. The review concluded he had pulled Saliba's hair in the build-up to what he believed was Real's second goal, and the effort was disallowed after the VAR intervention.

Spanish Football Federation regulations classify pulling an opponent's hair as violent conduct, and Article 130 states the punishment for violent conduct that does not cause injury can range from a one-match to a three-match suspension. The disciplinary committee nonetheless issued a four-match ban by combining the sanction for the red-card offence with the additional penalty for his protests towards the referee.

Following the match Vinicius apologised to his teammates and the club's supporters on social media, writing: "sorry to the team and the fans." The 26-year-old had also travelled to India earlier in October and played in Kolkata, an appearance that, according to the report, failed to impress the fans.

Barcelona, the defending LaLiga champions, have won all eight of their league matches so far and have scored 34 goals, while Real Madrid have suffered two defeats and trail by six points. Vinicius' suspension leaves head coach Jose Mourinho without one of his most frequently used attacking players for the trip to Barcelona.

The four-match ban rules Vinicius out of Real Madrid's upcoming league fixtures against Sevilla, Barcelona at the Camp Nou on October 26, Racing Santander and Valencia.