A press report on Thursday revealed why the disciplinary committee announced Vinicius' punishment on Wednesday, following his sending off against Villarreal in La Liga last Saturday.
Jose Mourinho, the Real Madrid coach, and Vinicius both made their irritation clear over the timing. The Brazilian's four-match ban landed just hours before the team faced Roma at the Olimpico in a crucial Champions League tie.
According to the newspaper "Mundo Deportivo", the secret lies in last Monday's public holiday.
It explained: "It is customary for punishments to be announced on Wednesday morning, after the three members of the disciplinary committee meet immediately following the expiry of the Tuesday afternoon deadline. In this case, however, the announcement was delayed by a few hours because of Columbus Day."
It continued: "According to Article 24 of the disciplinary code concerning hearing procedures, which states the following: this right may be exercised within a period ending at exactly two o'clock in the afternoon on the second working day following the match in question, with the secretariat of the disciplinary body having to receive the allegations or claims submitted at that time. In the case of matches played on a day other than a weekend, the aforementioned period is shortened by twenty-four hours, that is, until two o'clock in the afternoon of the following working day."
A public holiday in Spain for Columbus Day
With last Monday falling as a public holiday for Columbus Day, the deadline stretched to Wednesday as the second working day.
Sunday, remember, does not count as a working day in Spain.
That gave all affected parties, Real Madrid and the Brazilian first among them, until 2:00 on Wednesday afternoon to present their arguments.
The three members of the disciplinary body met as soon as the deadline expired to examine the allegations. They communicated their findings immediately.
Why the rush? Without a Wednesday announcement, clubs would not have had enough time to appeal and get a ruling before the next matchday began, leaving them unable to make suspended players available.
Every Spanish club has until three o'clock on Thursday afternoon to lodge an appeal with the appeals committee.
Only then will the findings follow, by twelve noon on Friday at the latest. Had the disciplinary committee sat on its decision, Real Madrid would have had no time whatsoever to respond to the punishment.
A second window for appeal
A second window for appeal also exists before the appeals body, running from two o'clock in the afternoon until seven in the evening on Thursday. In that case, the decision would have had to be communicated by two o'clock on Friday afternoon at the latest. Again, Real Madrid's time to draft their appeal would have been wafer-thin had they waited for the Spanish Football Federation's disciplinary committee to announce the punishments today.
Submit an appeal after eight o'clock on Thursday evening and there is no decision from the appeals committee on the Brazilian in this round of La Liga.
Announcing the decision last night does more than open a window to appeal. It also gives clubs the right to take their case to the Administrative Court for Sport, which falls under the National Sports Council.
To request that precautionary measure, Real Madrid included in Vinicius' case, clubs must file before twelve noon on Friday. Past that point, no decision is taken on the following day's match. Those legal deadlines explain the timing of yesterday's announcement.