Neymar was rightfully fuming
Brazil’s 1-1 draw with Venezuela was marred on Thursday night after Brazil fans took their frustrations out on the players.
Their 15-game winning streak came to a halt after Gabriel’s header was cancelled out by Eduard Bello five minutes later to shock the crowd at the Arena Pantanal stadium in Cuiaba.
As the full time whistle was blown, fans vented their anger – particularly towards Neymar.
Footage online showed the Al Hilal man walking off the pitch only to be hit on the head with a bag of popcorn, prompting a furious reaction from the national team’s captain.
Neymar became increasingly frustrated and could be seen trying to spot the culprit before being calmed down by his teammates and members of the Brazilian coaching staff.
Neymar being hit with a bag of popcorn after Brazil drew 1-1 vs. Venezuela at home. Brazil host Argentina in November.pic.twitter.com/7uckDCIgih
— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) October 13, 2023
Last month the 31-year-old overtook Pele to become the country’s all-time leading goalscorer with his total standing at 79 however it appears that fans are still not entirely convinced by him.
Fernando Diniz is temporarily in charge of the side after Tite left the role after elimination in the quarter finals of the World Cup in Qatar but he is reportedly set to be replaced by Carlo Ancelotti next summer.
Diniz, who is also in charge of Fluminense, hit out at those who threw objects at Neymar. He said: “I completely disagree. If the fan wants to curse, wants to boo, that’s fine. But throwing a pack of popcorn doesn’t add anything to anyone.
“I think it’s even disrespectful to those who came to play with and tried to do their best. But we also can’t blame the tie only on the field and only on the heat, because we had everything. We had countless chances to score the second, third, fourth goals and we didn’t score. And the goal they scored was an avoidable goal, which was a tactical error and game-reading error, a mismatch in defending.”
Related links:
- Neymar responds to claims he has tried to get Al Hilal manager sacked
- Players are ‘hating every minute’ of big-money Saudi move
- Kylian Mbappe may be forced to sack his own mum
