On Wednesday night, Neymar bagged the third of PSG’s goals against Maccabi Haifa in the Champions League. But his celebration resulted in a yellow card.
Following their victory over Juventus, the French side travelled to Israel with the desire to further establish themselves as the top team in Group H.
After years of heartbreak in Europe, the club have entered this year’s tournament with a vengeance, and they took no mercy on their opponents.
Despite conceding an early goal, Les Parisiens didn’t falter. They continued to work hard, and shortly after, Lionel Messi found the back of the net. The sides went into the break a goal-apiece. But it didn’t take long for Kylian Mbappe to put his team into the ascendency. And to put the icing on the cake, Neymar beat the defenders and drilled the ball past the helpless goalkeeper.
However, his joy soon turned to anger as the official took issue with his celebration.
Neymar booked for Champions League celebration
The Brazilian performed his trademark celebration, by sticking his tongue out and waggling his hands on his head. But this resulted in the referee, Danny Siebert, giving him a yellow card.
El Futbolero claim the celebration was deemed ‘disrespectful and humiliating’ to the home fans in Israel. They also suggest the player could receive further sanctions by UEFA – but European football’s governing body are yet to comment.
In the aftermath of the match, Neymar encountered the referee who gave him the card.
As per Abola, the forward said: “I met him after the game, and he apologised. But it’s too little too late. I have a yellow card now. It’s disrespectful to players. What happened to me today is sad. Refs are here to protect us. Football is becoming boring when we can’t even celebrate.”
Featured Image Credit: Getty
