Vinicius Junior was not pleased when the referee disallowed his goal in the match between Brazil and Scotland in Group C of the 2026 World Cup on the morning of June 25.
The situation occurred in the 22nd minute, when Brazil organized high pressing and caused the Scotland defense to make a mistake right in their own half. Vinicius quickly seized the opportunity, rushed in to challenge defender Jack Hendry, cleverly put his foot ahead to gain the advantage, and then broke loose to finish with a cross-shot into the opponent’s net.
Initially, the goal was awarded and the Brazilian star seemed to have completed his brace very early, while simultaneously raising his total number of goals at the 2026 World Cup to 4.
However, Vinicius’s joy did not last long. Mexican referee Cesar Ramos, after reviewing the situation, decided to disallow the goal. According to his assessment, the Brazilian forward committed a foul by making contact with the Scotland defender’s leg during the challenge before scoring.
This decision infuriated Vinicius. Television cameras captured the scene of the Brazilian striker continuously complaining to the referee, even muttering the words: “It’s disgraceful”. Afterwards, the Real Madrid star also had a rather tense argument with the man in black right on the pitch.
Commenting on the situation, former referee Iturralde Gonzalez considered this a controversial play. According to him, Vinicius was the one who proactively took up the position first, and in football, the player who wins the space first usually deserves to be protected.
This expert also emphasized that the Scotland player did not seem to react too strongly, which further made the decision to strip Vinicius of his goal a topic of debate after the match.
Despite being denied a goal, Vinicius still managed to score a brace against Scotland, helping Brazil lead 2-0 after the first 45 minutes.
