Neymar denies having insulted referee after Brazil's loss to Colombia
The whole Neymar sending off saga took a new twist with the Brazilian now saying that he did not say anything to the Chilean referee Enrique Osses in the tunnel. He also said that he believes that the entire incident has been blown out of proportion.
He said, "Practically nothing happened. I was in the tunnel and I was waiting for the ref to ask him why I was sent off. The whole incident started because some security agents showed up thinking that I was more nervous than I actually was. They were thinking that I was going to hit him or something. And everyone ended up believing all that."
The 23-year-old left Brazil’s training camp as he could no longer play any role in the tournament, and said that it was killing him from the inside to train and not play. He also apologised to his teammates for the disruption he had caused.
The Barcelona star was sent off after he headbutted Colombia’s Jeison Murillo, for which he was shown a red card. That sparked off a melee, which also saw Carlos Bacca receive a red card. Then, after he had left the field, Neymar was accused of having abused the referee, which saw his provisional two-game ban increase to a 4-game ban.
Speaking about Brazil’s win over Venezuela, he said, "Against Venezuela we showed that we can win matches and I think that we can win the Copa America. Brazil is full of great players and I have complete faith in the players who are there, all are stars at their clubs and they will respond to the call."
He also said that his family and friends had advised him to leave the camp and go on holiday so that he can prepare for Barcelona’s next season, both physically and mentally. "I spoke with my father and then I told Dunga and Gilmar Rinaldi [Brazil coaching coordinator] what he had said and both agreed," said the Brazil captain.