Neymar will sit out of Santos’ next two matches after he was found guilty of violating new ‘Vinicius rule’ protocols designed to increase transparency and eliminate hidden abuse on the field.
Santos captain Neymar was sent off during a 1-1 draw with Bahia on Saturday following a clash with Rodrigo Nestor.
The Brazil international was caught covering his mouth during the altercation, directly breaching the newly implemented ‘Vinicius Junior rule’.
Despite reports he could miss six games, Brazil’s Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD) ruled on the incident, handing the veteran attacker a two-game ban for the protocol violation, as per Reuters.
Referee Savio Pereira Sampaio shows a red card to Neymar Junior during the Brasileirao 2026 32th-round match between Santos and Bahia. (Photo by Ricardo Moreira/Getty Images)
The referee’s report also detailed that an enraged Neymar charged at the Bahia bench after receiving his marching orders and had to be physically restrained by his team-mates.
Following the game, Bahia released a statement condemning the alleged abuse, while Nestor openly criticised his Neymar’s actions to the media.
”What he said to me was highly disrespectful – both toward me and toward the Bahia jersey,” the midfielder stated.
Neymar firmly denied aiming any verbal abuse at Nestor, though he conceded that covering his mouth was a mistake.
The former Barcelona winger is now set to miss Santos’ next three fixtures and is not expected to return to action until late November.
Alongside the two-match ban for the protocol violation, Neymar must also serve a one-game suspension for accumulating three yellow cards ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Palmeiras.
