Champions League: Neymar could face ban for abusing referee after PSG’s controversial loss to Manchester United

Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) player Neymar could face Champions League ban for abusing match referee during the controversial loss to Manchester United. Neymar thought the decision cost his team the place in the quarter-finals of the competition.

The governing body of the competition, the UEFA, opened an investigation after the 27-year-old told match officials to “Go f**k yourselves” on Instagram. The incident took place after United were awarded a decisive stoppage-time penalty for a debatable handball via the video assistant referee (VAR) system.

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Paris Saint-Germain -  Manchester United pic.twitter.com/IUuP1O7Rs9

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) March 6, 2019

“It’s a disgrace. They get four guys who don’t understand football to watch a slow-motion replay in front of the TV,” Neymar wrote in Portuguese on his social media.

The Red Devils were given the spot-kick after Presnel Kimpembe was said to have touched Diogo Dalot’s shot, a decision that UEFA maintained was correct.

“The defender’s arm was not close to the body, which made the defender’s body bigger thus resulting in the ball being stopped from travelling in the direction of the goal,” UEFA said.

Ensemble  #LAFORCE pic.twitter.com/LvwWq42WVk

— Presnel Kimpembe (@kimpembe_3) March 12, 2019

Neymar who is currently injured risks being suspended during the early rounds of next year’s Champions League.

In June Neymar’s teammate, Gianluigi Buffon was also slapped with a three-match ban from European competition. He went on a live-on-TV tirade against referee Michael Oliver following his former club Juventus’ dramatic loss to Real Madrid last season.

Buffon accused the referee of having a “dustbin in place of a heart” after he awarded Real a last-gasp penalty. The spot-kick was enough to knock Juventus out.