Neymar’s already slim chances of making the Brazil squad for this summer’s World Cup could be extinguished with a ban. The 34-year-old forward may have landed himself in hot water with some offensive comments about a referee following Santos’ 2-0 victory over Remo.
Despite the win, Neymar was left fuming after the game after his clash with referee Savio Pereira Sampaio in which he picked up his third yellow card in four games, meaning he will be suspended for the next game against Flamengo. He is now awaiting repurcussions from his comments with any ban likely to eliminated his already slim Brazil World Cup hopes.
He said: “It’s very unfair because I was fouled from behind. It’s very disloyal – there was no need, it was at the end of the game. And it wasn’t the first time, the third or fourth, so I only went over to complain to him and I was booked straight away.
“Anyway, Savio is always like that. I think he woke up… [laughs] how do you say it… Woke up on his period and came to the game like that today.” He then added: “He’s the kind of referee who wants to be the star of the game, who has a great lack of respect for all the players. It wasn’t just with me. It was with the Remo players too. He doesn’t want to talk, he doesn’t want to converse.
“This has to improve. He’s the guy who’s in charge of the game, who has to command everything. And sometimes we’ll complain, as is football, we’ll ask why, question. He needs to know how to handle that. If he handles it that way, it becomes very unpleasant, very disrespectful.”
Neymar is potentially facing a 12-match suspension owing to an established precedent for such a penalty within Brazilian football. Missing such a signicant period would leave Carlo Ancelotti with no choice but to continue to leave him out of national team squads.
Red Bull Bragantino defender Gustavo Marques received a 12-game ban for directing sexist remarks towards female referee Daiane Muniz. Marques said: “I think the FPF [Sao Paulo Football Federation] has to look at a game of this size and not appoint a female referee.
With all respect to women around the world – I’m married, I also have my mum – I’m sorry if I’m saying anything bad about women, but I don’t think that she has the capacity to referee this game.” Marques subsequently offered an apology, though the authorities took a stern view of his sexist remarks.