Neymar sent off for breaking rarely-seen rule after incident with player who called him out on live TV

Neymar Jr was sent off for Santos in their 1-1 draw against Bahia in the Brazilian top flight after confronting an opponent who publicly criticised him during a half-time interview.

The 34-year-old, who is reaching the end of his second season back in Brazilian football, was sent off in the first minute of the second half with Santos 1-0 down.

At the beginning of the half, he walked over to Bahia midfielder Rodrigo Nestor and appeared to exchange words, with the Brazilian having had some choice words for him at half-time. Things quickly escalated from there and, after all the chaos, Neymar was shown a straight red card by the referee.

Why Neymar was sent off for Santos

The officials used the same law that was initially put in place ahead of the 2026 World Cup, where players were shown a straight red card for talking to opponents with their mouth covered - if malicious words are exchanged.

With the players gathered around the centre circle for the second half to kick off, Neymar and Rodrigo Nestor appeared initially to be exchanging light-hearted words with one another, and Neymar laughed as he walked towards the centre circle to kick off.

But then the Brazil legend turned around and approached Nestor again - this time with his hand over his mouth.

Nestor immediately alerted the referee and, after a short delay, the official walked over to the VAR monitor to review what had happened. Around a minute later, he decided to show Neymar a straight red card.

That prompted complete chaos over on the touchline as both teams got involved in a mass brawl, resulting in Neymar shoving Bahia head coach Rodrigo Ceni to the ground.

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What Rodrigo Nestor said about Neymar

Speaking to Brazilian outlet SporTV at half-time, Nestor claimed that Neymar had uttered words to him during the first half that were 'disrespectful to me and to the Bahia jersey'.

"My parents raised me well, I'm very grateful to them," he said (as per Marca). "And I know perfectly well where I come from. I was born in Itaquera; it was difficult to get where I am today, and I'm proud to wear the Bahia jersey.

"He knows what he said to me. It was disrespectful to me and to the Bahia jersey. He's an idol to everyone as a player, but today he failed as a person because of the way he spoke. You shouldn't do those kinds of things. My parents raised me very well, and I'm grateful for the upbringing they gave me. I would never say something like that."

Nestor stated he would not reveal exactly what Neymar told him 'because there are children watching'.

Former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar would later admit his mistake in putting his hand over his mouth in a post-match interview but stated that he 'didn't say anything' to Nestor.