Neymar Jr. has landed himself in hot water after punching a heckling fan, leaving the victim with a bloody nose and lip. The Paris Saint-Germain forward was clearly frustrated after losing their match against Stade Rennais F.C. in Saturday's French Cup final. When PSG's players walked through the crowd to collect their loser medals, Neymar was seen speaking with a fan for a moment. He then threw a quick punch before being ushered off.
The incident, which can be viewed below, happened after he was allegedly goaded by the 28-year-old fan. Speaking about his injuries with AFP, the fan said that he told Neymar the team had "been useless" during the match. The audio from another clip also shows him telling Neymar to "go and learn to play football."
Neymar has apologized for his behavior with an Instagram comment. "Did I act badly?" Neymar wrote. "Yes. But no one can stay indifferent."
The fan maintains that he "did not insult" Neymar, while the player's close friend Alex Bernardo disagreed. He explained that the fan insulted numerous players from the team. "Oh, Buffon, dirty Buffon," Bernardo quoted the fan as saying (allegedly referring to PSG's goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon).
"Who will defend me from going in defense of my teammates?" Neymar asked in another comment on Bernardo's Instagram post, according toAFP.
