Neymar has spoken about the impact Diego Maradona had on his career after meeting him as a child but his bid to emulate the late Argentine great’s “Hand of God” goal backfired on Sunday when he was sent off in what could be his last game for Santos.
With Santos and Botafogo locked at 0-0 heading into the last 15 minutes of their Brazilian league game, Neymar launched himself at a rebound in the penalty area and steered the ball into the net with his hand.
The Brazilian was quickly surrounded by furious Botafogo players before the referee flashed a second yellow card at the forward, cutting short his first start for the club since he made his return from injury last month.
Rubbing salt into the wound, Botafogo scored with four minutes left to secure a 1-0 victory.
The 33-year-old former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain attacker later apologised to his team and fans.
“I made a mistake, forgive me!” he posted on social media.
“Today, if I hadn’t been sent off, I’m sure we would have gotten the three points. You can count these three points against me!”
Neymar had returned to his boyhood club Santos in January after a stint at Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal, with his contract at the Brazilian side running until June 30.
The red card rules him out of Santos’s match against Fortaleza on Thursday, meaning he will only be able to play for the club again if he extends his contract before the league’s resumption in July following the Club World Cup.
Santos are 18th in the league having lost seven of their 11 matches.
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