Neymar Pushes Legendary Brazilian, Sent Off in Nightmare Outing for Santos

Neymar fell victim to the ‘Vinícius Júnior rule’ during Santos’ 1–1 draw over Bahia in Brazil’s Serie A on Saturday, receiving a red card for covering his mouth during an altercation with an opposing player.

Played out on a near-waterlogged pitch in São Paulo, the match was an ill-tempered affair from early on, with Neymar being shown a yellow card in the first half for throwing the ball at Bahia defender Rodrigo Nestor after being fouled.

Brazil’s all-time leading scorer then escaped further punishment for shoving Bahia’s manager, the legendary former goalkeeper Rogério Ceni. With tempers raised, Neymar was eventually sent off after covering his mouth during an interaction with Nestor.

With the players getting ready for kick off ahead of the second half, Neymar was caught on camera seemingly trash talking his opponents, who appeared to be doing their best to ignore Santos’ No. 10.

Neymar was seen zeroing in on Nestor, before eventually covering his mouth, prompting the defender to alert the referee, who produced the red card after a VAR review.

After being shown the red, Neymar saw red. The incident sparked a mini-brawl, with the forward needing to be restrained by teammates before he eventually left the pitch.

‘Today He Failed As a Person’—Neymar and Nestor Trade Insults

Neymar é expulso por falar com Rodrigo Nestor com a mão na boca.#futebol #santos #bahia #brasileirao #Neymar pic.twitter.com/9N1vRN3nNm
— ge (@geglobo) October 25, 2026

Speaking after the match, Neymar threatened revenge on Nestor, saying: “We were just chatting in the middle of the field, joking around, laughing with each other

“Then I went to speak to Nestor—I was wrong to put my hand over my mouth, sure, but I hadn’t even said anything yet when he raised his hand. It’s one of the dirtiest tricks in football! But I’ll get back at Nestor eventually.”

Nestor called the former Paris Saint-Germain superstar “disrespectful,” adding: “While he may be an idol to everyone as a player, today he failed—he failed miserably as a person—because of the way he spoke. You shouldn’t do things like that.”

Apparently having not cooled down later in the evening, Neymar took to social media to call out Nestor for being “underhanded” in taking advantage of the newly enforced law.

“What Nestor did to me today is, in my view, extremely serious,” Neymar wrote on Instagram. “It’s serious because there’s a law in place against racism, and he tried to gain an advantage in the match by claiming I said something—even though I had my hand over my mouth and didn’t say a word to him. Obviously, we were trading insults—taking jabs at each other—and that’s fine; it’s part of the game. But what he did is very serious.

“We were just messing around—I was joking with the two centre-backs—and he used that to try and gain an advantage. That is very serious. There’s a law against racism—how could he do something like this? It’s surreal. I’m very sad about what happened, because he was being completely underhanded.”

What Is the Vinícius Jr Rule?

The rule was brought in after the incident involving Gianluca Prestianni and Vinícius Jr. | Angel Martinez/Getty Images

Brought in by soccer’s lawmakers International Football Association Board (IFAB) ahead of the 2026 World Cup, referees were granted the authority to issue a red card if a player deliberately covers their mouth while speaking to an opponent or official during a heated exchange.

The rule follows the fallout of the high-profile incident involving Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni and Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior last season, and is intended to combat concerns that players may be attempting to hide abusive or discriminatory language from cameras and match officials.

During a Champions League clash between Benfica and Madrid at the Estadio da Luz, Prestianni was seen pulling his shirt over his mouth while speaking to Real Madrid’s No. 7.

Vinícius Jr immediately reacted to his opponent’s comments and informed referee François Letexier, who made the crossed arms gesture to signal the initiation of the racist abuse protocol.

Prestianni, who denied the accusations of racism, was provisionally suspended for one match—Benfica’s Champions League second leg against Madrid. After an investigation by UEFA, he was ultimately found guilty of homophobic conduct and received a six-match ban, with three games suspended.

Paraguay midfielder Miguel Almirón later became the first player in World Cup history to be sent off for covering his mouth during his country’s group stage match against Türkiye.

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