|
 Neymar was shown a red card at the end of their 1-0 Group C defeat
to Colombia after he became involved in scuffles between the South
American rivals and will miss Sunday's match against Venezuela and
probably at least one more game.
The 23-year-old had earlier been booked for a handball and he
complained afterwards that he was being victimized by match
officials and criticized Chilean referee Enrique Osses, who also
dismissed Colombia forward Carlos Bacca after the melee.
"They have to use the rules against me," Neymar told reporters. "The
ball hit me on the hand unintentionally and I got a yellow.
"This is what happens when you put in a weak referee. There was a
misunderstanding but there was no need to send everyone off. I
didn't even see that he had expelled me."
The defeat was Brazil's first in 12 matches and the first game coach
Dunga had failed to win since taking over following the 2014 World
Cup finals.
It left Colombia and Brazil tied at the top of Group C on three
points along with Venezuela, who have played one game fewer and meet
Peru later on Thursday.
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Neymar admitted he had a poor game against Colombia but said he was
confident his team mates would get the result they needed against
Venezuela and seal a place in the last eight.
"I admit we were not good and that I did not play well," he said. "I
take full responsibility."
Neymar had a superb second season at Barca, helping the Catalan
giants win a treble of Champions League, La Liga and King's Cup
titles.
(Writing by Iain Rogers, editing by Sudipto Ganguly)
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