 "Neymar did not look too pleased after he was substituted during the 85th minute of Santos' away league fixture against Flamengo at Rio de Janiero's Maracana Stadium. Reuters")
Neymar has ran into trouble following Santos’ turbulent game against Flamengo in the Brazilian Série A on Sunday. Not only did the attacking midfielder get into a heated exchange with referee Savio Pereira Sampaio after receiving a yellow card in the 36th minute, later labelling him “arrogant”, he was also unhappy with his coach Juan Pablo Vojvoda later in the game after getting substituted in the 85th minute.
“The referee is very bad. Besides being bad, with all due respect, he’s arrogant. That’s the word. Every time they go to the locker room they say that the captain is the one who can speak. When we go to speak, he turns his back and runs away,” Neymar told Globo after the match, which took place at Rio de Janiero’s Maracana Stadium.
“When I talk to him, he threatens me. It’s complicated. I got a yellow card because he threatened me. He said: ‘If you come near me, I’ll give you a yellow card.’ I said: ‘Can’t I talk to you?” he added, continuing his criticism of Sampaio.
Neymar’s booking was followed almost immediately after by Flamengo’s Leo Pereira putting his team in the lead with a goal off a corner. The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star, however, believes the corner kick shouldn’t have taken place, while adding that referees in Brazil have been making “huge mistakes”.
“In my opinion, it was a foul on Brazão, and it wouldn’t have resulted in a corner kick, which led to their goal. The refereeing in Brazil has been making huge mistakes. This needs to be addressed. The referee’s arrogance today, whose name I don’t even know, was awful,” the 33-year-old continued.
Neymar clashes with Santos coach after showdown with referee
One goal would lead to two more for Flamengo, who doubled their lead six minutes into the second half before virtually assuring themselves of a victory with an 81st-minute strike. They were in for a scare shortly before the referee’s final whistle, however, with Santos quickly scoring a couple of goals after Neymar’s substitution, including a minute into stoppage time.
The drama involving Neymar, however, refused to die down with the veteran star storming off the ground and through the tunnel into the locker room instead of joining the substitutes on the bench after coach Vojvoda substituted him with five minutes left in regular time.
Neymar, who is expected to make his final FIFA World Cup appearance for Brazil in North America next year, had joined boyhood club Santos from Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Hilal in January this year, his club also getting promoted to the top division from Serie B last December.
His homecoming, however, hasn’t been a happy one, with Santos currently 17th on the 20-team table with just 33 points in 32 games, facing the prospect of relegation with less than a month left in the 2025 season.