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Neymar insisted that he had been a victim of racism, as he was one of five players sent off in a massive fight at the end of Marseille’s 1-0 win over Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain, the Sunday.
The Brazilian PSG star appeared to accuse Álvaro González of calling him a “monkey” in a series of angry tweets after he was sent off in injury time for slapping the Marseille defender on the neck.
“Look at the racism. That’s why I hit him,” said Neymar, who was returning from quarantine due to coronavirus, as he left the field. González later denied making a racist comment.
“My only regret is not hitting this idiot in the face.” Neymar, the most expensive player in the world, tweeted after the game.
Neymar was expelled after a VAR review, while his teammates Layvin Kurzawa and Leandro Paredes were also expelled. Marseille striker Dario Benedetto and defender Jordan Amavi were also sent off.
“It’s easy for the VAR to show my ‘aggression’. ‘Now I would like you to show the image of the racist who called me’ MONKEY SON OF AB *** H ‘. I really would!” Neymar tweeted.
Florian Thauvin’s close-range volley in the 31st minute earned Marseille a first victory over bitter rivals since November 2011, but ugly scenes overshadowed the match at the Parc des Princes.
Neymar “told me it was a racist insult, but I didn’t hear anything on the pitch,” PSG coach Thomas Tuchel said.
“There is no place for racism in football, but I don’t think that was the case,” Marseille coach Andre Villas-Boas told Telefoot. “We will have to look at it.”
‘What racism?’
According to Telefoot, González responded “What racism?” when asked about the incident. He also tweeted a photo of himself surrounded by multiracial teammates.
“There is no place for racism” wrote the Spanish, adding: “Sometimes you have to learn to lose and take it to the field.”
PSG sporting director Leonardo suggested referee Jerome Brisard lacked the experience to officiate such a charged match.
“Fourteen yellow cards and five red cards mean the game was out of control,” Leonardo said. “Not to criticize the referee but it may not be the time to officiate a ‘classic’.”
Tuchel tried to play down the loss.
“I’m not angry. I think you have to separate the performance and the result. We played a great game, I’m happy with the quality, the mentality and the effort,” he said.
“I told the players that if we keep playing like this we will win every game. It was a great performance, but the result is what it is.”
PSG, runners-up to Bayern Munich in the Champions League final last month, have lost their first two games of a season without scoring for the first time since 1978/79.
A frenzied schedule awaits Tuchel’s coronavirus-stricken side, starting with a midweek visit from Metz and a trip to Nice next Sunday, and Neymar now faces suspension.
Marseille find themselves with an initial six-point lead as they try to close the gap with PSG, French champions in seven of the last eight years.
Mbappé out
After lining up a reduced lineup in Lens on Thursday, Tuchel was able to call up Neymar and Angel Di Maria for a match played in front of some 4,000 fans in Paris.
However, Kylian Mbappé remained absent after testing positive for the coronavirus in France earlier in the week with Mauro Icardi and Marquinhos also missing.
Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda produced a magnificent reflex to avoid a Marco Verratti effort within a minute, as spirits frequently rose in the capital.
Thauvin, who shone in Marseille’s first 3-2 win at Brest before the international break, made the breakthrough when he converted a Dimitri Payet free kick at point-blank range.
Di Maria found the net for PSG shortly after the hour, but had strayed behind the last defender, and Marseille’s celebrations were similarly cut short moments later when a Benedetto goal was ruled offside.
PSG’s last goal came in a 3-0 win over RB Leipzig in the Champions League semi-final on August 18, and Neymar deflected from a Pablo Sarabia cross before the match deteriorated at the end.
“It’s a bit disappointing that we end up like this,” Thauvin said. “We didn’t want to get into that kind of game.”
