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`Regret not hitting him in the face`: Red-carded PSG forward Neymar on Alvaro Gonzalez for racial slur
The PSG superstar was sent-off after VAR showed him slapping Marseille defender Alvaro Gonzalez on the back of his head. A total of five players were sent-off after a massive brawl erupted in PSG`s 0-1 loss to Marseille.
Highlights
- PSG forward Neymar has voiced strong opinions following his send-off from the pitch after slapping Marseille defender Alvaro Gonzalez on the back of his head.
- In a tweet, Neymar said that "the only thing he regrets is not hitting the defender in the face." Neymar also accused the defender of racism and of calling him a "monkey."
- A total of five players were sent-off after a massive brawl erupted in the stoppage time of PSG's 0-1 loss to Marseille on Sunday.
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward Neymar has voiced strong opinions following his recent send-off from the pitch after slapping Olympique de Marseille defender Alvaro Gonzalez on the back of his head. The Brazilian star later accused Gonzalez of making a racial slur at him during PSG’s 0-1 loss to Marseille at home on Sunday (September 13).
In a Tweet posted from his official Twitter account, Neymar wrote ( in Portuguese): “The only regret I have is not hitting him in the face”
Neymar followed it up with another tweet and wrote, “VAR catching my “aggression” is easy ... now I want to see the image of the racist calling me “MONO HIJO DE PUTA” (monkey) ... that I want to see! What's up? REEL u punish me .. CASCUDO am expelled ... what about them?”
It remains to be seen what words were spoken on the pitch and whether Gonzalez threw a racist jibe at Neymar or not as the pitch-side mics and cameras couldn’t establish it.
In their opening encounter of the 2020-21 season of French Ligue 1, Thomas Tuchel’s PSG were beaten, thanks to Marseille winger Floran Thauvian’s opening goal in the 31st minute. The defending domestic champions, PSG, looked lacklustre for most of the evening as they failed to combine in the final third even though they enjoyed 66% possession.
Just when PSG looked like they were shifting gears and finding their groove, Marseille scored through Thauvin against the run of play when he drilled in a volley at the near post after a pin-point freekick from Dimitri Payet into the area.
The match though got riddled with controversy right at the death when the players from the two sides engaged in a massive brawl on the pitch and five players were sent-off.
The brawl started when Marseille striker Bendetto nudged fellow Argentine and PSG midfielder Leandro Paredes to the ground in stoppage time and the players from both sides lost composure and laid their hands on each other.
Four players were first instructed off the pitch namely PSG duo of Leandro Paredes and Layvin Kurzawa and Marseille's Jordan Amavi and Dario Bendetto. Later, after a VAR check, Neymar was given a straight red card and sent-off after he was shown slapping the back of the head of Marseille centre-back Gonzalez.
Right before the brawl started, Neymar was shown having a long verbal spat with Gonzalez and had also shoved him on the head during the heated argument at that moment. It can be the case that the clash between the players stemmed from the Brazilian’s initial argument with the Spanish defender Gonzalez.
Neymar will now miss PSG’s clash against Metz on Wednesday which will come as a huge blow to Thomas Tuchel as their star striker Kylian Mbappe is also out of action after testing positive for novel coronavirus.