Neymar has issued a grovelling apology after his needless red card for a blatant handball proved costly in Santos' loss to Botafogo on Sunday.
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- Neymar issued apology after handball red card
- Brazil star claimed first yellow card could have been avoided
- Botafogo beat Santos 1-0 with late goal
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WHAT HAPPENED?
Neymar was sent off in the 76th minute after he picked up a second yellow card for punching the ball into the net. The Brazil icon's absence proved costly as Botafogo scored the winning goal 10 minutes later and secured a crucial three points in Brazil's Serie A.
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WHAT NEYMAR SAID
After the game, the 33-year-old attacker posted an apology on social media as he wrote: "Desperation of scoring sometimes causes us to commit mistakes… I want to apologise to my teammates and also to the fans! I made a mistake, forgive me!!! Today, if I didn't get sent off, I’m sure we could get the 3 points.. Congratulations to the team for today's game! Those 3 points can be put on my account!!!"
IG:@neymarjr
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
Neymar also claimed that he was wrongfully shown his first yellow card, thereby indicating that his sending off could have been avoided, as he added: "Note: second yellow has to be given, but the first one is the judge's drainage, I made a mistake and I'm already taking yellow… What a bad judge. That's just my opinion…please don't punish me anymore."
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WHAT NEXT?
Santos will be back in action in the Brazilian top division on June 13 as they take on Fortaleza away from home – but they will be without the suspended Neymar.