Neymar recently expressed remorse over receiving a red card in what may have been his last game with Santos, which contributed to their defeat in a Brazilian league match. In the 76th minute of Santos’ 1-0 loss to Botafogo, Neymar was dismissed after attempting to score using his hand to push the ball into the goal. His contract with Santos concludes at the end of June, and with only one league match left before the Club World Cup break—which he is suspended for—this may mark the end of his tenure with the club.
The Brazilian star attempted to use his head to reach the ball before a defender could clear it, but when this seemed impossible, he resorted to using his right hand to push the ball into the net. Having already received a yellow card earlier in the match, the referee showed him a second, invalidating the goal and leaving Santos without his presence for the remainder of the game. Shortly after his dismissal, Botafogo capitalized by scoring the winning goal in the 86th minute.
Using Instagram as his platform, Neymar publicly apologized, acknowledging that his eagerness to score led to a significant error. “Desperation to score a goal sometimes leads to mistakes,” he stated. “I want to apologize to my teammates and to the fans. I made a mistake, forgive me. If I hadn’t been sent off, I’m sure we would have gotten the three points. Congratulations to the team for today’s game. You can put these three points on my account.”
Though Neymar accepted the second yellow card, he voiced his displeasure with the initial caution, which was issued for a late first-half foul. He criticized the decision, saying, “The second yellow card has to be shown, but the referee has to be kidding about the first one.” He continued, expressing his frustration with the refereeing standards by adding, “It’s incredible how many bad referees there are out there. That’s my opinion, please don’t punish me even more,” followed by a laughing emoji.
Currently, Santos is struggling in the league, with only two victories out of 11 matches and holding the 18th position in the 20-team standings, placing them in the relegation zone.