Neymar received a red card for a bizarre, Diego Maradona-esque ‘Hand of God’ moment in what could be his final game for Santos.
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Neymar receives red card for his “Hand of God” attempt
Santos suffered a 1-0 home defeat against reigning champions Botafogo.
In the 76th minute, the referee showed Neymar a second yellow card after using his hand to score a goal.
Realizing he couldn’t reach the ball with his head before a defender cleared it, the forward pushed it into the net with his right hand — a blatant handball that earned him an early exit.
To add insult to injury, Botafogo scored with four minutes left to secure a 1-0 victory.
“I made a mistake”
Meanwhile, The 33-year-old former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain attacker apologized to his team and fans.
“I made a mistake, forgive me!” Neymar posted on social media.
“Today, if I hadn’t been sent off, I’m sure we would have gotten the three points. You can count these three points against me!”
Santos are 18th in the league, having lost seven of their 11 matches.
Neymar’s contract with Santos expires at the end of June.
The club has just one more league game before the break for the Club World Cup.
With his suspension ruling him out of that match and no extension currently in place, this incident may mark his final appearance for the club in his current spell.
