Neymar apologized and asked for forgiveness after he marked his potential final appearance for Santos with a red card against Botafogo.
Neymar had already received a first-half booking when he was shown a second yellow card for trying to punch the ball into the net with 14 minutes remaining.
Botafogo took advantage of playing with the extra man and grabbed the only goal late on.
Neymar wrote on Instagram: “The desperation to score sometimes makes us commit mistakes. I want to apologize to my teammates and also to the fans. I was wrong, forgive me.
“Today, if I hadn’t been sent off, I’m sure we would have got the three points. The team played really well today – congrats to everyone. You can put those three points on me.”
Neymar hits out at referee
The Brazil international was quick to hit out the referee, however, and felt he had been harshly treated.
He added: “The second yellow was fair, but the first one, the referee was messing around. I committed one foul and got booked. What a terrible referee, seriously. Just my opinion, please don’t punish me any further.”
Neymar’s future remains uncertain. He will now miss Santos’ game with Fortaleza on June 12, after which the Brasileiro pauses for the Club World Cup.
His contract expires on June 30 and he has yet to commit his long-term future to his hometown club.
He has been linked with clubs back in Europe and the Middle East and the 33-year-old knows he needs to be playing regularly to prove his form and fitness ahead of next summer’s World Cup, hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
