This time he was the victim: Neymar at the centre of an unprecedented incident in the Brazilian league
What's the story?
Santos secured a precious 3-0 win over hosts Vasco da Gama in the 23rd round of the Brazilian league. The side turned the game around in the final 20 minutes to climb out of the relegation zone and hand their captain Neymar an exceptional night.
According to the Spanish newspaper "Marca", Neymar played the entire match and put in a strong display despite his recent physical issues. He was involved in two of Santos' three goals, leading his team to a hugely important victory in their fight to escape the danger zone.
The breakthrough came in the 68th minute through Gabriel Barbosa "Gabigol". Willian Arão added a second in the 77th minute, and Luan Peres completed the treble four minutes later, capitalising on the rebound from a powerful strike by Neymar that Vasco's goalkeeper Léo Jardim could not deal with.
Neymar had a hand in the second goal too. He sent in a cross that Jardim failed to clear, allowing the ball to reach Willian Arão, who put it into the net. Then the Brazilian star took a powerful free-kick in the 81st minute, which the goalkeeper dealt with poorly, letting the ball fall to Luan Peres who slotted it home.
For Vasco da Gama, it was a disastrous evening at the São Januário stadium. They collapsed completely in the final minutes, and their fans jeered goalkeeper Léo Jardim after the final whistle.
The win raised Santos' tally to 25 points from 23 matches, moving them temporarily out of the relegation zone, pending the results of the rest of the round's matches. The team continue a positive period, having reached the quarter-finals of the Copa do Brasil and beaten Ecuador's Mácará in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana.
Neymar's night was not without an exceptional incident. He became the first prominent victim of one of the new rules to combat time-wasting in the Brazilian league, which came into effect for the first time during this week's matches.
Santos goalkeeper Gabriel Brazão received treatment on the pitch, and the referee deemed the incident to fall within time-wasting methods. He decided to penalise Neymar, as the team's captain, by having him leave the pitch for one minute before allowing him to return to the match.
Under the new rule, if play is stopped due to a goalkeeper's injury, the coach must designate a player to leave the pitch, remaining off it for at least one minute after play resumes.
Should the coach fail to designate a player within 10 seconds of the medical staff being allowed onto the pitch, the team's captain leaves the pitch automatically.
The rule includes specific exceptions, among them a goalkeeper's injury resulting from a foul requiring a free-kick and immediate attention, or a collision between the goalkeeper and one of the outfield players requiring treatment for both, in addition to cases of a goalkeeper bleeding.
