Views: 0
Neymar stormed out of the Parc des Princes after being sent off for diving during Paris Saint-Germain’s win over Strasbourg.
The Brazilian went down very easily in the penalty area in the 62nd minute to collect his second yellow card in as many minutes.
And Neymar didn’t bother to hang around to watch Kylian Mbappe seal PSG a last-gasp 2-1 win from the penalty spot.
‘Neymar left the stadium before the end of the match. You have to understand his frustration. He needed to vent his anger,’ said PSG coach Christophe Galtier on Canal Sport afterwards.
The PSG coach suggested Neymar won’t be further punished for leaving the ground early but he will be suspended for the upcoming trip to Lens on New Year’s Day.
Lens are PSG’s closest challengers at the top of the Ligue 1 table, albeit eight points adrift with a game in hand.
Neymar had played in Brazil’s run to the quarter-finals of the World Cup, where they were eliminated on penalties by Croatia.
After a short break, he returned to PSG action on Wednesday night and things were going well after he provided the assist for Marquinhos to open the scoring on 14 minutes.
But after Marquinhos put through his own net for 1-1, Neymar was booked by referee Clement Turpin just after the hour mark for a foul.
Then seconds later, as Neymar broke onto Kylian Mbappe’s pass into the Strasbourg box, he attempted to fein contact from defender Alexander Dijku, with replays showing there clearly was none.
Turpin had little hesitation, pointing for a Strasbourg free-kick and issuing Neymar with a second yellow card for simulation.
Neymar remonstrated with the official, along with his team-mates, before trudging off the pitch and, it seems, out of the stadium entirely.
Galtier added: ‘Neymar alternated the game between ups and downs. I can understand that there is anger in him, he really wanted to play the next two games.
‘As much as I can understand the simulation, he deserves the yellow.
‘A few minutes before he suffers a bad foul and his first yellow is very severe compare to the number of fouls suffered by Ney.
‘Strasbourg is a team that plays well, but also gives off a lot of strength and power. There was a lot of impact in this match.
‘I regret that the excess of commitment was not sanctioned more harshly for certain players. It could have generated a little frustration for Ney.’
It ultimately didn’t cost PSG too dearly as Mbappe won a penalty when brought down by Gerzino Nyamsi in stoppage time. Mbappe duly converted to earn PSG three points on his own post-World Cup return to action.
Story by Adam Shergold for MailOnline