The Disciplinary Tribunal of CONMEBOL has taken a lenient approach to the suspension on Nemyar, who has avoided a more serious sanction that could have also impacted on Barcelona.
The Brazilian grabbed the referee by the neck after Brazil’s 1-0 defeat to Colombia and the striker shouted abuse at him five times. It was only considered as “unsportsmanlike behaviour”, an act that is punishable by at least a two-game ban. That punishment was minimal considering he made contact with the official and that he repeated the insults. The Barça man was hit with a two-game suspension because of that post-match tirade and he was handed another game for his part in the brawl that led to his sending off. A fourth game was added on to the ban due to the yellow card he collected.
Had the actions of Neymar been considered an assault he could have been suspended for at least ten matches and up to four months. That kind of suspension would also likely have extended to his appearances for Barcelona, as the ban for Luis Suárez did when he bit Chiellini at last summer’s World Cup in Brazil.
Article 10.2 of the Disciplinary Code of CONMEBOL highlights the sanction that could have been handed to the player.
“Under the provisions of Article 9.1, for committing offenses against match officials by a playerdisciplinary sanctions may be imposed as described below:
a) Suspension for at least two matches or for a period of time determined for unsporting conduct towards a match official taking into consideration the seriousness of the offense.
b) Suspension for at least ten (10) games or for a period of time of at least four (4) months for assaulting or spitting at any match official.”