Neymar Confronts Manchester City Fan After Barcelona Win, May Face UEFA Action

Barcelona forward Neymar could face UEFA disciplinary action after being involved in a "verbal spat" with Manchester City fan Aziz Hammad, according to Jonny Singer of the MailOnline.

Continue for updates.

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Manchester City Fan: 'I Did Nothing Wrong'

Thursday, Feb. 25

University of Manchester student Hammad stepped forward to speak about the incident, reported by Chris Slater of the Manchester Evening News:

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[Neymar] was saying something to me in either Portuguese or Spanish but I couldn’t understand him. I kept doing the diving gesture to annoy him. I didn’t do anything wrong, I just did what all the other fans were doing. 

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Reports had suggested Neymar was abused in Portuguese, but Jordan native Hammad insisted he wasn't involved in such activity, reported by Slater:

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I don’t speak Portuguese. That came from the upper tier when he was substituted in the 80th minute. All I did was make the diving gesture straight after the penalty. Throughout football he is known for being a diver and half of the stadium were probably doing the same thing. And that’s normal. If you are a professional, you expect to expect to be goaded by the home fans. That’s football.

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Hammad suggests he may have been the target of Neymar's frustration, per Slater:

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But he has singled me out because I stood up. I think he was angry about the other incident and has taken it out on me. He was very unprofessional. But I don’t want to be in danger of losing my season ticket and want to make it clear I did nothing wrong.

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The second-year economics student also insisted he doesn't want to see Neymar punished, saying: "It wasn't a very serious incident. But I hope he wouldn't react like that again."

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Neymar Disciplinary Action Depends on City Report

Wednesday, Feb. 25

Stuart Brennan of the Manchester Evening News previously suggested a steward needed to step between the arguing pair:

The incident took place seconds after Lionel Messi missed a last-minute penalty in the Blaugrana's 2-1 Champions League round-of-16 first-leg win. As the final whistle sounded, Hammad—wearing a City shirt with Yaya Toure's name on the back—appeared to celebrate wildly in Neymar's direction, before gesturing to the Brazilian that he's a diver.

Neymar then appeared to call the 19-year-old over, as seen below:

Speaking after the match, Neymar told Brazilian media: "I was just playing with him. He began to curse me and I ended up mocking him," per Singer. "What he told me? I can not repeat it, no. My mother gave me an education. What his mother did not tell him, my mother taught me."

Singer suggests Neymar was spotted posing for a photo with another fan after the situation had "cooled off." His article also indicates the European governing body could be forced into action against the 23-year-old if City decide to report the exchange.

Such an incident will come as a minor blot on an excellent night for Barca. Neymar remained elusive throughout the tie, playing an important role in stretching the City defence. While Messi's sublime control and eye for a pass did most of the damage, Luis Suarez's first-half double holds Barca in good stead for the home leg.

Twitter users Probst Stefan and Stanley Kay posted Suarez's strikes:

Sergio Aguero pulled a fine goal back, however, giving City hope of causing a major upset at the Camp Nou, tweeted below:

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Gol de Sergio 'Kun' Aguero, Manchester City 1-2 Barcelona. https://t.co/yVCnLWBS5I

— Aurora Hernández. (@AuroraHdz) February 24, 2015"

Barca's two away goals ensure that Manuel Pellegrini's side will need at least two goals to progress in Catalonia.

Goal.com highlighted a fine performance from the visitors:

Suarez addressed Messi's missed penalty—an attempt which was followed with him missing the gaping target with a rebounding diving header, per the Press Association (h/t ESPN FC):

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Sometimes penalties are missed. We would have liked a bigger lead. In the first half we had a lot of chances, and we could have scored more goals. In the second half they began stronger, and the goal put them back in the game.

But we know that Manchester City are a great team with a lot of potential, and that they could make it difficult for us. They reacted and it was difficult.

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FanSided provided video of the Messi miss:

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VINE - Joe Hart saves Messi's penalty, and Messi misses with follow up header https://t.co/6ayjg2T7m6

— FanSided GIF (@FanSidedGIF) February 24, 2015"

Luis Enrique's side dominated possession, found space between City's makeshift centre midfield of Fernando and James Milner, easily ripping through the regimented English champions. Although City responded with a more creative output during the second half, Barca's ability to dominate long spells of possession will see them outlined as heavy favourites to progress.

Neymar will be hoping his headlines are more positive after the next clash on March 18, when his only interaction with supporters could be celebrating a famous win.