Marc Cucurella confronts referee over Vinicius Jr red card
Marc Cucurella angrily confronted officials after Vinicius Junior was sent off for pulling an opponent's hair during Real Madrid's win against Villarreal.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Author: Alejandro Ramos
Tensions flared during Real Madrid's narrow 1-0 win over Villarreal after Vinicius Junior was shown a straight red card. The Brazilian forward was dismissed in the 72nd minute for pulling the hair of Nathan Saliba, a decision that triggered a chaotic scene on the sidelines.
Marc Cucurella was visibly furious with the officiating, marching directly to assistant referee Francisco Garcia to issue a stern warning. The defender was caught on camera demanding: "I hope... I hope that if anyone touches a single hair of mine, you send them off. Go check the VAR."
The confrontation became so heated that teammate Bernardo Silva and club delegate Chendo had to step in to restrain the left-back. Despite playing with ten men for the remainder of the match, Madrid held onto their lead thanks to an earlier strike from Yan Diomande and crucial late saves from goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.