Neymar reacted to a harsh challenge from Diego Hernandez at the end of the clash between Santos and Remo on Thursday night, leading to him being shown a yellow card.
After the game, the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star caused controversy as aimed his anger at the referee.
"It's always the same," Neymar told SporTV. "It's unfair. I suffered a foul from behind, unnecessarily, at the end of the game. It wasn't the first time. It was the third or fourth. I just went to complain to him. I said, 'Are you crazy?' I already got a yellow card. Anyway, Savio is like that. I think he woke up a bit, as they say, in a bad mood, and came into the game like that. You couldn't even talk to him without him ignoring you, turning his back on you.
"He's the kind of referee who wants to be the star of the game, who has a great lack of respect for all the players. It wasn't just with me. It was with the Remo players too. He doesn't want to talk, he doesn't want to converse. This has to improve. He's the guy who's in charge of the game, who has to command everything. And sometimes we'll complain, as is football, we'll ask why, question. He needs to know how to handle that. If he handles it that way, it becomes very unpleasant, very disrespectful."
Neymar’s comments on the referee have also been translated to: “Anyway, that’s just how Sampaio is. He must be on his period.” as in Brazil to suggest someone has woken up on the wrong side of the bed infers such a situation.
Santos is now firmly positioned in mid-table in thirteenth place, twelve points behind league leaders Palmeiras in what is a solid position after they avoided relegation last season.
Neymar is currently striving to secure his place in Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil squad for the upcoming World Cup in what seems an unlikely scenario despite the team’s injuries to the likes of Rodrygo.