Neymar furious at wrong substitution

Neymar became embroiled in a row with the officials after claiming the Santos forward was wrongly substituted in the 3-0 loss to Curitiba.

The 34-year-old was looking to impress a day before Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti named his squad for this summer’s World Cup.

However, he was substituted after 65 minutes for Robinho Jr. after the fourth official retained his number 10 as Neymar was temporarily sidelined for treatment on a calf injury.

It looked like Gonzalo Escobar should have made way and Neymar was yellow carded after trying to get back on the pitch.

He then snatched the replacement slip from the officials and held it up to a television camera to prove that Escobar was there to get him out.

In the end, Neymar left the field and handed the captain’s armband to Escobar.

“The fourth official got the substitution wrong,” Santos said in a statement on social media.

“This is confirmed by television coverage and notes used by officials during the substitution. An inexplicable error that has not been corrected.”

Neymar is Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer with 79 goals but has not played for his country since 2023 amid a battle with injuries.

He extended the contract with Santos He was eyeing a place at the World Cup until the end of 2026.

Brazil open their World Cup campaign against Morocco on June 13 before facing Haiti and Scotland in the group stage of the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States.