Neymar Denies Copa America Tunnel Outburst at Ref, Opens Up on Brazil Exit

Neymar was expected to banish the malaise that has engulfed this Brazil team since their embarrassing World Cup exit by inspiring the Selecao to Copa America glory. 

Instead, the Barcelona forward was banned for the rest of the tournament after receiving a red card against Colombia and has been unanimously lambasted for his poor conduct.

Ricardo Mazalan/Associated Press

But according to the man himself, reports that suggested the Selecao skipper launched an expletive-laden attack on the referee are wide of the mark, per Jornal Nacional (h/t SW Lim of Goal.com).

“Nothing happened in the tunnel, basically,” said Neymar. “I was inside it, and waiting to ask the ref why he dismissed me. Then a huddle took place and security guards came in, thinking I was nervous, that I wanted to attack him. That's how it came to this.”

Natacha Pisarenko/Associated Press

According to Alex Richards of the Daily Mirror, following the Barca star’s dismissal after the final whistle against Los Cafeteros, the official's match report details Neymar saying “you want to make yourself famous at my expense, you son of a b---h” to the referee in the tunnel after the game.

Whatever happened afterwards, there’s absolutely no excuse for the Brazil star’s behaviour on the field. Clearly frustrated by the performance of his side, Neymar lashed out with his head in the direction of Colombia’s Jeison Murillo. What made the incident even more frustrating for Selecao supporters was that the match was already over.

As we can see here courtesy of Soccerway (h/t Bleacher Report UK), while the Brazilian is developing into a world-class footballer, he does have to work on his discipline:

The 23-year-old, who picked up a four-game ban for his conduct, has left the squad as a result, admitting in the aforementioned piece that it’s not a decision he took lightly: “It was a family decision to leave. I talked to my father, and then I told Dunga and team manager Gilmar Rinaldi. They agreed.”

Now Brazil face the unenviable task of winning this tournament without their talisman. In their first game without Neymar, Dunga’s side secured a nervy 2-1 win over Venezuela thanks to goals from Thiago Silva and Roberto Firmino.

Jorge Saenz/Associated Press

As noted here by Bleacher Report’s Rik Sharma, the absence of the captain allowed other players, like Chelsea’s Willian, a little bit more freedom in what’s typically a pragmatic system:

Indeed, Neymar himself has insisted that this squad of players is good enough to go far in the competition without his own mercurial influence:

"I think there's a lot of life in Selecao without Neymar. The players have shown that they can win games and win Copa America.Brazil has plenty of great players. I'm absolutely confident of this team and the players that are there representing it. They are all big names who'll take care of business."

Silvia Izquierdo/Associated Press

The Selecao’s next match in this tournament is against Paraguay in the quarter-finals, but then they’re set to face either Colombia or Argentina in the semis. Get through that and hosts Chile are likely to stand between them and glory in the final.

It’s a treacherous run, but also one which Dunga’s side are capable of negotiating. However, had their mercurial captain been in situ to sprinkle his unique stardust on proceedings, things would have been a lot easier for Brazil. You suspect this fanatical football nation will come to rue what was a costly lapse in judgement from their golden boy.