Vinicius Junior, the Real Madrid player, apologized to his teammates and the club's fans after he was sent off during his team's 1-0 victory over Villarreal in the Spanish Premier League at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Saturday.
Vinicius is now nervously awaiting the decision of the disciplinary committee, which may lead to his absence from Real Madrid’s match against its rival Barcelona on October 25 at the “Camp Nou” stadium.
The Brazilian player thought he had scored Real Madrid's second goal, but the goal was canceled after a review by the Video Assistant Referee, which found that he should be sent off for pulling Nathan Saliba's hair at the beginning of the attack.
During the match, Vinicius, who entered the field in the 52nd minute and received a red card 20 minutes later, published a post on social media in which he wrote: “I apologize to the team and the fans.”
The Spanish Football Federation’s regulations stipulate that pulling an opponent’s hair is considered “violent behavior.”
The penalty for violent behavior that does not cause injury to the opponent (Article 130) is suspension from one to three matches.
Real Madrid's next 3 matches in the league will be against Seville, Barcelona and Racing Santander, but his absence from the summit match will be a severe blow to the Brazilian international.
Italian Marco Betsicki won a well-deserved victory in the Indonesian Grand Prix on Sunday, while Spaniard Jorge Martin came third, regaining the lead in the World Motorcycle Championship - MotoGP category from his compatriot Marc Marquez.
Betsiki, driver of the Aprilia team, snatched the lead from the first-place finisher, Raul Fernandez, during the last third of an exciting race held at the Mandalika International Circuit in hot weather.
Spaniard Fernandez came in second place, while his compatriot Martin came third, both of whom also drive for Aprilia.
As for Marquez, the seven-time world champion and title holder with Ducati, he finished the race in sixth place.
With this result, Martin regained the lead in the overall championship standings, two points ahead of Marquez, with 5 more rounds remaining until the end of the season.
Betsiki, in turn, is still in contention for the title. It ranks 3rd in the overall standings.
Fernandez started perfectly from the first starting position for the first time in his career, despite having to use his middle finger to brake after his index finger was broken during the “sprint” on Saturday.
This was a source of relief for him after he collided with Betsiki, who started next to him on the starting line, and the two fell during the “speed race.”
Marquez had won the Sprint race, seizing the championship lead for the first time from his compatriot Martin.
After a third of the race's 27 laps had passed, Fernandez maintained his lead over the Italian despite his injury.
On the other hand, former world champion Martin was in third place, while his title rival Marquez was chasing him from fifth place.
Fernandez, who had previously won two races in the MotoGP category, maintained his calm under tremendous pressure from Betsicki until the 19th lap, when the Italian succeeded in seizing the lead. From that moment on, Betsicki moved away in front, while Fernandez bravely held on to second place until the end.
Kenyan legend Eliud Kipchoge, who won two Olympic gold medals, won his first marathon race in 3 years, after taking first place in Melbourne on Sunday.
The most decorated marathon runner in history crossed the finish line in a time of 2 hours, 9 minutes and 10 seconds, two seconds ahead of the race record.
This is his first victory in a marathon since his victory in Berlin in 2023, as part of his “World Tour” tour, which aims to raise funds for causes he believes in.
The former world record holder, 41 years old, announced in 2025 his intention to complete marathon races on seven continents, including Antarctica, within two years.
Melbourne was the third stop on this tour after South Africa and Brazil.
Kipchoge succeeded in staying away from his competitors during the last 10 kilometers of the race, part of which passed through the Albert Park circuit for Formula 1 races, before ending inside the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Kipchoge, who appeared refreshed at the finish line, said: “The track was really wonderful, and I enjoyed seeing people standing, encouraging and chanting my name.”
He could have set a better time, but slowed down inside the Melbourne Cricket Ground and waved to the fans.
He added: “It was really different, running on a beautiful track, on a Formula 1 track, and above all, finishing the race on a cricket field.”
He continued: “This makes me proud to run with the younger generation and inspire the runner community in Melbourne.”
Australian Thomas Do Canto came in second place with a time of 2:10:35, while New Zealander Camille French took first place in the women's race with a time of 2:28:25.
