Neymar is no stranger to controversy. Now, in the latest addition to the list, the Brazilian football icon has been called out on social media for making a sexist remark regarding referee Savio Pereira Sampaio. After Santos’ match against Remo, the former PSG star called the referee ‘Chico’ after he showed him a yellow card.
The word is often viewed as sexist in Brazilian slang and refers to a woman in her period. In his post-match comment, Neymar suggested that the referee was acting irrationally as he was menstruating.
In an interview with Canal Premiere, he said, “This card is unfair. I was on the receiving end of a dangerous, unnecessary tackle at the end of the match. It wasn’t the first, but the third or fourth. I went to protest and received a yellow card.”
“That’s Savio for you; he woke up like ‘Chico’ [in a bad mood] and came onto the pitch in that state. He wants to be the star of the match, he’s incredibly disrespectful to the players, he doesn’t talk, he doesn’t discuss anything, he’s the kind of guy who dictates the game, who wants to control everything. He needs to learn to manage that. It’s disrespectful.”
During the match against Remo, he was repeatedly fouled by the opposition. At one point, he lost his composure and got into a confrontation with Diego Hernandez in the second half, resulting in a yellow card. He will miss Santos’ next match against Flamengo on Sunday due to the booking.
Neymar has also been in the headlines after missing out on Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil squad for the international break and looks set to be excluded from the FIFA World Cup team. He is Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 79 goals, but hasn’t played for them since suffering a knee injury in October 2023.
After returning to Santos last year, he has failed to maintain fitness and consistency. After Brazil’s 1-2 defeat to France on Thursday, the calls for Neymar’s inclusion have increased.
Meanwhile, Santos manager Cuca has slammed Neymar for getting the yellow card. “If you look at the play, he gets nudged from behind by one player, then another. He went for it, a Remo player came and tackled him, in the heat of the moment, I think he could have been more cautious. But the referee decided to act differently and gave him the card. He’s a player who was caught up in the heat of the moment, he’s hot-headed, but in my opinion, he could have avoided that card”, he said.
“We have to plan how we’re going to play Sunday’s game; it’s a shame to lose Neymar. He was right next to me, I don’t think I needed to give him the card, I could have managed the game. Anyway, he ended up getting the card and will miss an important match,” he added.
