Vinícius Jr. got lucky this week when he received a two-game suspension in LaLiga after assaulting Valencia's goalkeeper on Friday. He got expelled, with a direct red card, but the team managed to come back and win the match, and Vini's sanction means he will only miss two Liga games, and not the upcoming Spanish Supercup and Copa del Rey games if he had received a four-game ban, as some were expecting.
However, despite the good news, Real Madrid isn't happy with the ban, believing it's unfair. "It's difficult to be Vinicius on the pitch, I still think so. I think the two-match ban is not right".
The club will appeal the sanction, claiming that the VAR decision didn't take into account the taunt Dimitrievski (Valencia's goalkeeper) made to Vinícius just before he was pushed, touching the Brazilian's braids. They also maintain that Vinícius suffered racist insults just before the incident, that weren't taking into account in the referee's statement.
Ancelotti, meanwhile, defended his top player. "We are delighted with Vinicius in every aspect. In this regard, everyone can say what they want. I just get tired because when we talk about provocation on Vini Jr.'s part, it deflects from the insults and everything else that happens to him".
Vinícius will play tonight game against Mallorca in Saudi Arabia for the Spanish Supercup. If they win, he'll also play the final on Sunda against Barcelona. He will miss Liga games against Las Palmas and Valladolid on January 19 and 25.