Neymar dismissed under Brazil’s ‘Vinicius law’ after Bahia clash

Santos forward Neymar was shown a direct red card after covering his mouth while speaking to Bahia midfielder Rodrigo Nestor during Saturday’s Brazilian league match.

The incident happened in the centre circle before the second half of the teams’ round-32 fixture. Neymar appeared to be involved in a heated exchange with Nestor and placed his hand over his mouth at one point while saying something to the Bahia player.

Nestor then went straight to the referee to report the action by the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward.

Before the match resumed, the video assistant referee called the official to the monitor and showed him footage of Neymar covering his mouth. The referee subsequently dismissed Neymar, deeming the gesture to fall under the regulation known in Brazil as the “Vinicius Junior law”.

Footage of the incident was published by Brazilian outlet ge on 25 October 2026.

The red card followed an earlier confrontation between Neymar and Nestor during the first half. Speaking to SporTV during the interval, Nestor strongly criticised the Santos number 10 and explained that the disagreement began after he attempted to shake Neymar’s hand.

Nestor said Neymar responded by kicking the ball towards his body before a verbal exchange followed.

“After that, I heard a series of words,” Nestor said. “My parents brought me up extremely well and I am very grateful to them. I know exactly where I come from. I was born in Itaquera, and reaching the position I have reached was difficult. I am proud to wear the Bahia shirt.

“He knows what he said to me. It was disrespectful to me and to the Bahia shirt.”

Nestor also acknowledged Neymar’s status as a footballer while criticising his conduct during the match.

“As a player, he is an idol for everyone, but today he failed personally because of the way he spoke,” he said. “You should not behave like that. My parents brought me up extremely well and I thank them for the upbringing they gave me. I would never say something like that.”

When asked again to repeat exactly what Neymar had said, Nestor refused to disclose the words used by the Santos player.

“I will not say it because there are children watching, and what happened was not good,” he said.