According to ESPN, Brazil’s Superior Court of Sports Justice Second Disciplinary Committee has suspended Neymar for two matches following his red card in Santos’ 1-1 draw against Bahia.
Santos received the decision on Wednesday, October 28, with the committee handing Neymar a two-match suspension for his dismissal during the 1-1 draw against Bahia on Saturday, October 24. When combined with the automatic one-match suspension he faces for accumulating three yellow cards in the same match, the Brazilian forward will serve a total of three matches on the sidelines.
However, the ruling was made at the first-instance level and can still be appealed before the full panel of Brazil’s Superior Court of Sports Justice, the country’s highest sports judicial body.
The Santos number 10 was punished for breaching the “Vinicius Clause” during the 32nd round fixture after covering his mouth while confronting Rodrigo Nestor.
Article 191, Paragraph 2 of the Brazilian Code of Sports Justice provides for fines ranging from 100 to 100,000 Brazilian Reals, depending on the seriousness of the violation.
Prosecutors also invoked Article 258 of the Brazilian Code of Sports Justice in the case. The provision addresses conduct that breaches sporting discipline or ethics but is not specifically covered by other sections of the Code. Violations under this article can attract suspensions ranging from one to six matches.
According to the referee’s report from the Santos-Bahia encounter, Neymar was shown a straight red card after half-time for covering his mouth during his confrontation with Rodrigo Nestor.
The report also stated that “after being sent off, the player ran toward the away team’s bench to confront an opponent and had to be restrained by his teammates.”
Neymar was subsequently charged under Article 191, Paragraph 2 of the Brazilian Code of Sports Justice, which deals with failure to comply with regulations established by an affiliated sports governing body.
His actions were also deemed to have breached Article 7 of the “Vinicius Clause”, as outlined in the FIFA Disciplinary Code.