Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior was sent off with a direct red card for pulling the hair of a Villarreal player in their La Liga game on Saturday.

Vinícius was celebrating after scoring for Madrid when referee Isidro Díaz 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 Vinícius for having tugged hard on the hair of Villarreal´s Nathan 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.

Vinícius asked for forgiveness from his team and fans on social media, without mentioning Saliba.

'Sorry to my team and my fans,' Vinícius wrote on Instagram in Spanish.

But Madrid team-mate Jude Bellingham seemingly felt the Brazilian's sending off, with eagle-eyed supporters spotting an X-rated response being mouthed by the Englishman moments after Vinicius' dismissal.

'Wow, f*** me,' he appeared to say. 'The game is f***ing gone.'

Madrid boss Jose Mourinho, outraged by the officiating during his side's win, opted to skip media duties post-match, with Spanish outlet Marca reporting that the 63-year-old was cautious not to make a comment that could result in a touchline ban.

Madrid face Sevilla and arch rivals Barcelona in their next two league games. Vinicius will receive a one-match ban for the straight red, but his punishment could be worse should LaLiga take into account the referee's report of his behaviour after the sending off.

According to Marca, Diaz de Mera noted in his official report that the Brazilian, 'after being sent off and still on the field, he continued to protest my decision loudly, heading towards the area where I was with an aggressive attitude.'

The referee also noted that Vinicius 'had to be restrained by team-mates' before eventually leaving the field of play.