Neymar Banned 4 Matches for Red Card vs. Chile

Things got a bit feisty at the end of a tense Copa America match between Brazil and Colombia on June 17. Brazil superstar Neymar let the frustration of a 1-0 loss boil over as time expired and received a straight red card as a result. The forward received a four-match ban on June 19, which will keep him out for the remainder of the tournament, according to Fox Soccer. 

This came after Neymar had already been booked earlier in the match. BuzzFeed Sports shared footage of the incident that led to his dismissal:

"The rules are always used against me," Neymar told SporTV, courtesy of Goal's Mark Doyle, who provided more from the FC Barcelona star:

"

They clean the disappearing foam and do not receive yellow but I do. The ball was in my hand but it was not intentional—I was falling—and received yellow. Things happen. Put a weak referee to referee and this happens. Nothing made me crazy. I just get p----d with the referees who don't whistle right.

"

On June 19, via Sport English, former Brazil star Ronaldo said "You can't justify what he did. [Neymar] is passing through a difficult moment. "He's acting in an aggressive way and he can't accept, under any circumstances, that sometimes these things happen in a game. When you are wearing the Brazil shirt, you can't act like that."

101 Great Goals provided a rundown of the consequences for Neymar's recent misbehavior on the pitch:

Colombia defender Jeison Murillo walked up to Neymar at full-time after the Selecao captain misfired on a shot and appeared to utter some unkind words. Evidently, Neymar was displeased, as he attempted to head-butt Murillo before being shoved violently by Carlos Bacca, who was also sent off.

Neymar is just 23 years old and has been respectable, for the most part, in dealing with the immense expectations and scrutiny that come with being one of the best footballers on the planet. Unfortunately, the pressure has gotten to him a couple of times too often in Copa America action.

As highlighted by Bleacher Report UK, Wednesday marked Brazil's first loss since 2014's World Cup. It had been a while since Neymar last dealt with defeat while playing for his country, so his anger was understandable. He just needs to learn from this experience and harness it in a more productive way next time.

Miguel Delaney of ESPN FC noted how Brazil lacked the spirit needed to notch the equalizer in Wednesday's match:

Brazil's attack depends so heavily on Neymar, and no one stepped up Wednesday when Neymar couldn't make anything happen.

Their next fixture, against Venezuela on Sunday, figures to be a rather easy match. The Brazilians are fifth in the FIFA rankings and are set to take on a 72nd-ranked opponent that has already helped the Selecao's cause by defeating Colombia in its opener.