Brazil's Neymar out of Copa with four-match ban

June 20, 2015 | 09:23

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Brazil captain Neymar was ruled out of the remainder of the Copa America after being hit with a four-match ban for headbutting a Colombian player in a post-match brawl.

SANTIAGO: Brazil captain Neymar was ruled out of the remainder of the Copa America on Friday (Jun 19) after being hit with a four-match ban for headbutting a Colombian player in a post-match brawl.

Brazil's forward Neymar (front) confronts Colombia's forward Carlos Bacca at the end of their Copa America football match in Santiago, Chile, June 17, 2015. (Photo: AFP/Rodrigo Arangua)

South American football's governing body CONMEBOL confirmed the 23-year-old's punishment after the striker's red card during a post-match scrap following Brazil's 1-0 defeat to Colombia in Group C on Wednesday. The surprisingly severe sanction means that Neymar, who was also fined US$10,000 (S$13,339), will play no further part in the tournament, unless the Barcelona player lodges a successful appeal.

Brazil, who face Venezuela in their final group match on Sunday, would have a maximum of only four games left if they reached the final.

Neymar saw red after a combative game with Colombia that ended in a tumultuous melee, with the Brazil star appearing to aim a headbutt at Colombian goalscorer Jeison Murillo. Colombian player Carlos Bacca, who shoved Neymar following his butt on Murillo, was suspended for two games, CONMEBOL confirmed.

If Neymar has played his last game of the Copa America it would mark a sensational fall from grace for the young forward, who had been carrying his nation's hopes as they chased a first Copa America crown since 2007.

There was already bad blood between Neymar and the Colombian team heading into Wednesday's match. The Brazilian suffered a fractured vertebra when Colombia's Juan Camilo Zuniga collided with him in their World Cup quarter-final clash last July, an injury that sidelined Neymar for the rest of the tournament.

AFP

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