Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar hit out at a referee after he received a yellow card for celebrating in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Neymar scored late on to complete PSG’s 3-1 comeback win at Maccabi Haifa, after goals from Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe had put the French side ahead on the night.
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After his strike, Neymar celebrated by putting his hands on his head and sticking out his tongue – a celebration that has become his trademark this season and is a gesture aimed at the player’s critics.
However, the striker was then punished by German referee Daniel Siebert and later took to Twitter to complain about the decision.
Total lack of respect for the athlete”, he wrote after the match. “This cannot happen. I get the yellow because I just haven’t done anything and I’m still injured.
“And the referee? Not even to say he was wrong, he will! Very disrespectful.”
Neymar continued the debate on his Instagram story and said: “Another win, congratulations, but we continue, right?
“There it is, one celebration is a yellow card, another for the list for NJ [Neymar]. These things only happen to me.
“Next time I will warn the referees that I will. Football just keeps getting more annoying!”
– Champions League talking points after the second leg
It is not the first time the 30-year-old has taken to social media to lash out at the officials when he claimed the “beautiful game is over” after Lucas Paqueta was shown a yellow card for attempting a rainbow kick last season.
Neymar also reacted angrily when he was booked by referee Jerome Brisard for the same tackle in PSG’s 5-0 win against Montpellier in 2020.
The Brazilian has been in fine form for PSG this season, contributing 11 goals and seven assists in 10 games.
