Vinicius Jr. scores, then gets sent off for pulling opponent's hair

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior had a goal disallowed and was sent off Sunday after a VAR review revealed he had pulled an opponent's hair during the scoring play in a La Liga match.

Vinicius Junior came on as a substitute for Trent Alexander-Arnold in the 52nd minute of Real Madrid's La Liga Round 8 clash against Villarreal.

He quickly made his presence felt, finding the net and celebrating alongside manager Jose Mourinho — but the joy was short-lived. The referee conducted an on-field VAR review and found that Vinicius Junior had grabbed and pulled the hair of opposing player Nathan Saliba during the buildup to the goal. The strike was ruled out and Vinicius Junior was immediately shown a red card, just 20 minutes after coming on.

The Real Madrid bench reacted furiously to the decision, and Mourinho skipped the mandatory post-match press conference.

Despite losing a goal and their key attacker, Real Madrid held on to win 1-0.

The winner came from 19-year-old Jan Diomande, who joined from Leipzig in August. Diomande, who arrived at Real Madrid for about $159 million, scored his debut goal in the 62nd minute with a low, driven shot. An offside flag was initially raised, but a video review overturned the call and the goal stood as the match-winner.

Eight rounds into the season, Real Madrid are chasing La Liga leaders Barcelona, who sit six points clear at the top with 24 points.