Real Madrid's Vinicius red-carded for pulling hair of Villarreal's Saliba

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior was sent off with a direct red card for pulling the hair of Villarreal's Nathan Saliba in their La Liga game on Saturday.

Vinicius was celebrating after scoring for Madrid when referee Isidro Diaz de Mera was called by the video assistant to review the moments before his goal.

The referee waived off the goal and pulled out a red card for Vinicius for having tugged hard on the hair of Saliba when they were sprinting down the field.

Madrid hung on for a 1-0 victory despite playing with 10 men from the 73rd minute.

Vinicius had gone on as a second-half substitute shortly before Yan Diamonde put Madrid ahead. When he thought he doubled the lead, Madrid manager Jose Mourinho ran to join the celebrations with his players.

But moments later Vinicius was left livid by the referee's decision. He screamed at Diaz de Mera while his teammates tried to calm him down as he left the field.

Madrid visits Barcelona in two rounds.