Neymar was served a four-match ban by CONMEBOL for insulting the match official and grabbing him by the throat after being sent off during Brazil's Copa América meeting with Colombia. Brazil coach Dunga knows that it is Neymar who makes the Brazil side tick but also feels that the player should learn to curb his temper.
It was Dunga who opposed the Brazilian Football Federation's plan to appeal against the four-match ban, which effectively meant the tournament was over for the Barça player. CBF General Secretary Walter Feldman confirmed that the decision not to appeal was Dunga's in Brazilian programme, Esporte Espectacular. “These are difficult moments in which you have to make a firm decision and only time will tell if you made the right one or not. The coaching staff didn’t hesitate in asking us not to appeal against the punishment because it would be better if Neymar were to leave”, Feldman explained.
Brasil were eliminated in the quarter finals of the Copa América which means that Neymar has only completed two games out of the four-game ban (against Venezuela and Paraguay). He will serve the following two in Brazil’s first two 2018 World Cup Russia qualifiers but the CBF plan to request that Neymar completes the suspension in the next edition of the Copa América
“At this stage, we haven’t got a lot of options open to us regarding an appeal but independently of the outcome, we have the right to request that the remainder of the sanction can be postponed”, Feldmann added.
Despite their premature exit from the tournament, the CBF are not considering bringing in a new coach. “Bowing out of a tournament like this one is upsetting for all Brazilians but we don’t feel that it’s severe enough to sack Dunga. We cannot base everything we do on results. The new strategy which the CBF is taking involving planning for the long-term”, he ended.