Red card for Neymar for speaking with his mouth covered, Brazil star furious as Santos draw

Stepping onto the field without creating a talking point seems almost impossible for Neymar Junior. This time, playing for Santos, the Brazilian star was shown a red card for speaking to an opposing player with his mouth covered. Earlier, he had received his first yellow card for throwing the ball at an opposing player's chest. The two incidents together ended his night in an eventful match.

Santos had an eventful day against Bahia at their home ground, Vila Belmiro, in a Brasileiro Serie A match. In the 39th minute, visiting defender Luciano Juba scored the first goal against them. Right at the end of the regulation 90 minutes, in injury time, Santos equalised. With Luan Peres Petroni's goal they avoided defeat, and the match ended 1-1.

But more than the result, Santos star Neymar's red card is now at the centre of discussion. According to the rules, the report noted, he did commit an act deserving punishment. But Brazil's all-time top international scorer cannot accept it.

The incident happened just before the start of the second half. Neymar was shown the red card for speaking to opposing player Rodrigo Nestor with his hand over his mouth. At that moment, however, referee Savio Pereira Sampaio was facing the other way, meaning the incident was not directly seen by him.

After Nestor's complaint, the incident was reviewed through the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). Following that review, the match referee showed Neymar the red card. This act of speaking with the mouth covered was treated as punishable in the eyes of the rules.

Neymar will also have to bear the direct consequences of the red card. For this reason he will have to serve a suspension in Santos's upcoming Wednesday match against Palmeiras. In other words, Santos will be without their star forward in an important match for the team.

The punishment does not end there. Having now seen three yellow cards, Neymar will also be unable to play the following Monday's match against Bragantino. As a result, the Brazilian star must stay out of the team for two consecutive matches, a big blow for Santos's attack.

Later, the Brazilian forward expressed anger over Nestor's tactics in forcing the red card. At the centre of his complaint was the opposing player's behaviour, which he believes led to the VAR review and the red-card decision.

In a video from the moment he was leaving the field, Neymar can be heard saying: 'We were joking, we laugh with each other. At that moment I went to speak to Nestor. I had brought my hand over my mouth by mistake, I had not said anything yet, and before that he raised his hand.'

Raising his anger further, Neymar called it 'one of the dirtiest tactics in football'. At the same time he warned: 'And I will deal with Nestor.' His remarks make it clear that the on-field incident is not ending on the field.

All in all, although Santos earned a point in the 1-1 draw against Bahia, their night will be remembered for another reason — alongside the relief of avoiding defeat with an injury-time goal, Neymar's red card and his suspension for the next two matches. Santos will have to take the field without Neymar in Wednesday's match against Palmeiras and Monday's against Bragantino.