Neymar was shown a straight red card at Vila Belmiro on Saturday after covering his mouth while arguing with Bahia midfielder Rodrigo Nestor — a dismissal that will cost Santos its star for the next two league matches, including Wednesday's clash with Palmeiras.
The incident came at the break of Santos' 1-1 draw with Bahia in round 32 of the Brazilian Serie A. As the players waited for the second half to resume, Neymar approached Nestor in the centre circle and put his hand over his mouth while speaking to him. Nestor immediately alerted the referee, who consulted VAR and sent Neymar off.
The decision falls under the Brazilian league's so-called "Vini Jr law", which instructs referees to dismiss any player who covers his mouth while arguing with an opponent. The rule was introduced after Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior suffered racist abuse from Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni during a Champions League match — a case in which the abuse was allegedly delivered with a hand covering the mouth.
'One of the dirtiest tricks in football'
Neymar insisted as he left the field that the exchange had started as harmless banter between the two players, and that Nestor had exaggerated what happened to influence the referee.
"We were having fun on the pitch, laughing at each other. At that moment, I went over to speak to Nestor. I accidentally put my hand over my mouth, and I hadn't even opened my mouth to say anything when he raised his hand and started making a scene," Neymar said.
"This is one of the dirtiest tricks in football! And I'll deal with Nestor."
The footage reviewed by VAR did not establish what Neymar said, and Nestor did not publicly repeat the words he said Neymar had used. But the pair had already clashed during the first half, and Nestor made his view clear at the interval.
Nestor: 'He knows what he said to me'
Speaking to Sport TV at half-time, Nestor said he had gone to shake Neymar's hand, only for the Santos forward to fire the ball at his body.
"After that, I heard a series of words," Nestor said. "My parents raised me extremely well, I am very grateful to them, and I know well where I came from. I was born in Itaquera, and reaching the position I have reached was difficult, and I am proud to wear the Bahia shirt. He knows what he said to me. That was a lack of respect for me and for the Bahia shirt."
"He is a role model for everyone as a player, but he failed today on a personal level because of the way he spoke."
Ten-man Santos rescue a point
The red card left Santos to play the entire second half with ten men, but the home side still found a way to avoid defeat. Defender Luan Peres rose to meet a corner from Benjamín Rollheiser in the third minute of second-half stoppage time to head home the equaliser.
Santos had applied relentless pressure after the dismissal, generating 14 corner kicks and 10 shots on target across the match, but Bahia goalkeeper Ronaldo produced a series of crucial saves to deny Gabriel Barbosa an equaliser before Peres finally broke through.
The result leaves Santos seventh and Bahia eighth in the Serie A table.
Two matches out
The suspension is a costly one for Santos. Neymar had already picked up his third yellow card of the current suspension cycle during the first half — also in a clash with Nestor — so the bookings plus the straight red mean he will miss two matches: the home game against Palmeiras on Wednesday, October 28, and the following match against Red Bull Bragantino on Monday, November 2.
Missing two consecutive fixtures is a setback for a club seeking consistency in Brazil's top flight, with Neymar's attacking quality and experience making him one of its most important players — even as disciplinary incidents keep leaving Santos without him at crucial moments.