The Appeals Committee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has dismissed Real Madrid's appeal regarding the two-match suspension handed to Vinícius Júnior. This decision stems from his controversial red card in the January 3rd clash against Valencia, confirming that the Brazilian forward will serve his ban.

The Controversial Incident

The suspension was initially imposed on January 7 by the RFEF Disciplinary Committee, following Vinícius' dismissal during a rescheduled LaLiga EA Sports match. The referee's report cited the following reason for the expulsion:

"Striking an opponent in the head deliberately, without the ball in play, and with notable force."

Additionally, the report noted that Vinícius had to be restrained by team members as he protested while being escorted to the locker room.

Real Madrid challenged the decision, claiming a "manifest error" in the referee's report. They argued that the referee lacked full VAR footage of the incident and called the sanction "arbitrary and invalid."

Appeals Committee Decision

After reviewing Real Madrid’s appeal and submitted video evidence, the Appeals Committee upheld the original decision. Their key findings were:

• The referee's report carries a presumption of accuracy, and the video evidence does not contradict the description of the incident.
• While the events could be interpreted in different ways, the description in the referee's report justifies the disciplinary action.
• Real Madrid’s own appeal did not dispute the existence of the action leading to the red card.