Neymar, sent off for covering his mouth while addressing a rival
NeymarSantos forward, was sent off this Saturday for covering his mouth while, apparently, arguing with a Bahía player in a match corresponding to the thirty-second matchday of the Brazilian Championship.
Number 10 was talking to Rodrigo Nestor in the central circle before the start of the second half, when at a certain moment he puts his hand to his mouth and says something to the midfielder of the Salvador team.
At that moment, Nestor goes straight to the referee to denounce the behavior of the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) player.
Even before the game restarts, the referee is called by the VAR, which shows him the image of ‘Ney’ covering his mouth. Consequently, he decides to send him off with a direct red card, framing the attacker’s gesture in what is baptized as the ‘Vinícius Júnior Law’, which is applied in the ‘Brasileirão’.
Nestor and Neymar had already argued in the first half. Speaking to SporTV during the break, the Bahia midfielder harshly criticized Neymar.
He said that he went to shake his hand and that the former Brazilian national team player responded by throwing the ball at his body.
“Later I heard a series of things. My parents educated me very well, I thank them very much and I know perfectly well where I come from. I was born in Itaquera; it was difficult to get where I have arrived and I am proud to wear the Bahía shirt. He knows what he told me. It was a lack of respect towards me and towards the Bahía shirt,” he explained.
And he concluded about the Santos star: “He is an idol for everyone as a player, but today he failed as a person because of the way he spoke. Those types of things should not be done. My parents educated me very well and I thank them for the education they gave me. I would never say something like that.”
When asked what exactly he told him, Nestor refused to reproduce the words from number 10 “because there are children watching and it was not good.”
After these statements, Neymar spoke to Nestor moments before the second half, covered his mouth for a moment and ended up being sent off.
The former Saudi Al-Hilal striker later admitted that he was wrong, but that Nestor exaggerated because he went in the direction of the referee before he said anything to him.
By then, Bahía was winning 1-0 thanks to Luciano Juba’s goal, but Santos, with one man less, insisted and achieved a point through Luan Peres in the 93rd minute.
The match was marked by a heavy rain storm that left the Vila Belmiro grass full of puddles and in a situation that was practically unviable for playing football. Despite everything, the game was played until the end
