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Brazil star Neymar da Silva has sharply broken his silence to deny claims he reprimanded Santos’ youth players at half-time in the 2-2 draw with Chapecoense, calling media reports a “biased lie” and insisting the incident was a collective reprimand aimed at the entire team and not specific individuals.
According to Brazilian newspaper Globo Esport, Neymar lashed out at two of his younger teammates at halftime, calling Gabriel Bontempo “stupid” and suggesting he play for bottom of the Brazilian league Chapecoense next season.
He also criticized and questioned the technical capabilities of Joao Ananias, who scored an own goal in the 62nd minute, causing widespread displeasure among the players, coaching staff and members of the board of directors.
A fiery response via Instagram
Neymar, through a video published on his Instagram, hastened to answer categorically, saying: “I see that some rumors are spreading about me scolding the younger players in the dressing room. That is not true at all. I ask whoever is spreading this word, don’t do it, don’t lie.”
“You can ask anyone in the locker room, it’s a reminder for the team. I spoke, Lucas, Arau, Gabi, Brazo… everyone spoke, and of course there were reprimands, because we are competitors and we want to win, but there was no reprimand for the youngsters.”
A categorical rejection of lies
The former player of “Barcelona” and “Paris Saint-Germain” emphasized that he completely rejects the “lie” he described, saying: “From now on, I will not accept the lies that you spread on the Internet. Making a remark in the locker room, regardless of the identity of the person making the remark, is normal.
Strange tone and yellow card
Neymar stole the show with his quirky way of celebrating a 1-0 lead in the 36th minute, as he first imitated playing poker and then ran to the corner flag to use it as a golf club, sending a clear message to his critics before he was booked for pushing two opposition players, meaning he will miss the next match due to war.
