"I had no intention of saying that he was playing badly" - Brazil fan explains why he threw popcorn at NeymarÂ
The supporter who threw popcorn at Neymar after a 1-1 draw with Venezuela in the 2026 World Cup qualification, has claimed that he did not mean it as an adverse reaction to the result.
He stated it was done to get the Al-Hilal star's attention and he is a big fan of the forward.
Speaking to Brazilian news portal Leo Dias, the fan claimed he was just eating popcorn when Neymar was exiting the pitch. He screamed to get the Brazilian's attention, but his impulsive reaction saw him throw the popcorn at the Al-Hilal star.
He said:
"At the end of the game I went downstairs, where I was closer to the players. I was eating popcorn; Neymar came, I screamed, I called and he didn't even look in my direction. I threw the popcorn at him , but I had no intention of saying that he was playing badly, I really did it to get his attention."
"It seems that I did it out of spite, but I didn't do it out of spite, I did it to get his attention. I am a fan of his, I admire his football, it was not to hurt him, it was simply to draw attention so that he would look at the stands," he added.
Neymar shouted at the fan after the popcorn incident
Neymar was not happy with the fan throwing the popcorn bag at him and shouted back.
He also spoke about it in the media and claimed that it was something that needed to be avoided, as footballers are humans too. He said (quotes via Globo):
"I condemn that type of attitude, it should not be done, it is very bad for football, for human beings. A guy who does this kind of thing is not an educated guy, he will not be able to educate his son in the best possible way. If he complains so much, he should have trained better and been on the field."
Brazil are back in action on Tuesday (October 17) when they face Uruguay in the next FIFA World Cup qualifier.