Overview
- Neymar returned to Santos and scored both goals to salvage a 2-2 draw with Chapecoense at the Vila Belmiro on July 25, keeping the club outside the relegation places.
- Earlier in the week footage showed Neymar playing at the BSOP Winter poker tournament in São Paulo while Santos travelled to Venezuela for a Copa Sudamericana tie, prompting public criticism.
- Santos coach Cuca said the club kept Neymar in Brazil for supervised training and load management after his recent injury and World Cup run, and the player has publicly defended attending the poker event as occurring on an authorised day off.
- After his first goal Neymar celebrated by miming dealing cards, a gesture aimed at critics that television coverage captured, and he was shown a yellow card later in the match which triggers a suspension for the club’s next league fixture.
- The episode sharpens a dilemma for Santos between protecting a star’s fitness and managing fan and media scrutiny, and it will force coach Cuca to adjust team selection during a congested run of domestic and cup fixtures.