Brazil will appeal Neymar's four-game suspension that rules him out of the rest of the Copa America. Brazil coach Dunga said on Saturday...
Brazil will appeal Neymar's four-game suspension that rules him out of the rest of the Copa America.
Brazil coach Dunga said on Saturday that his confederation's "legal department will file a counterpoint to Neymar's sanction."
Dunga said in a news conference in Santiago that Neymar was of huge importance in football, and therefore the sanctions against him were also huge. Dunga said Brazil was seeking only "what's fair."
A CONMEBOL disciplinary panel on Friday also fined Neymar $10,000 for being sent off after the final whistle of Brazil's 1-0 loss to Colombia on Wednesday.
The Copa America board had originally suspended the Barcelona star for two games early Thursday, then CONMEBOL reduced the ban to a single game before Friday's final ruling.
Neymar kicked a ball at Colombian defender Pablo Armero at the tail end of Brazil's loss to the 2014 World Cup quarterfinalists. As Armero dramatically rolled around on the ground, Colombia's Jeison Murillo confronted Neymar, who then attempted to head-butt the defender, sparking a melee.
Eventually, Neymar and Colombia striker Carlos Bacca were red-carded for their roles in the row.
According to the referee's report, Neymar then waited in the tunnel to the team'S dressing room for match official Enrique Osses and verbally abused him -- an act, upon review, that saw his suspension increased on Friday.
Neymar was already set to miss Brazil's final Group C match after receiving a yellow card earlier in the game for what appeared to be an unintentional handball after missing a goal-scoring chance.
"Neymar was hit 20 times during the game. After, he lost control and touched the ball with his hand, and he got a yellow card. Is this fair?" Dunga asked on Saturday. "Just like [Alexis] Sanchez, [Lionel] Messi and [Angel] Di Maria, these players have to be protected from so many fouls."
Neymar on Wednesday also blamed Osses for his yellow.
"In my view the rules are always used against me," Neymar told Brazilian media.
"I was off balance, the ball hit my hand but it was not intentional. They put a weak referee in there to whistle up for all that. The team didn't play well."
Brazil will play Venezuela in their final group stage game on Sunday in Santiago.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
