Neymar’s play-acting branded ‘absolutely pathetic’ by O’Neill

Brazil superstar Neymar has been branded ‘absolutely pathetic’ by Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill and accused Brazil’s No.10 of playacting during their 2-0 win over Mexico in the second round of the competition to secure their Quarter Final spot.

The 26-year old ace forward scored one goal and assisted the other in Selecao’s magnificent 2-0 victory against Mexico but Neymar was once again under the spotlight because of exaggerating fouls by Mexico players rather than his performance with the ball at his feet.

Neymar has been heavily criticized for allegedly going down too easily on several occasions during Brazil’s games against Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia in the group stage of the World Cup 2018.The Brazilian did come under harsh treatment from opposition defenders but the general sentiment from fans and footballers have seen the Brazilian being shunned for his actions. Former England international Alan Shearer tweeted yesterday to Neymar “STOP IT. We are fed up of it. #BrazilvsMexico”.

One incident in particular caught the attention, with Neymar reacting dramatically after apparently having his foot trodden on by Miguel Layun when the ball was dead.

According to a report from Goal.com, O’Neill, speaking to ITV, did not hold back on the matter and questioned why he needed to make such a big deal of every bit of contact.

“Neymar’s reaction is pathetic. It’s absolutely pathetic,” the former Celtic and Aston Villa manager said.

“Honestly, it’s a red card nowadays because they’ve spotted standing on his foot. But I mean the pain threshold of Neymar is just incredibly low, I must admit. I wouldn’t like to see him coming out of the doctor’s surgery after getting a flu injection.

“He’s a top-quality player, he’s a top-quality actor.

“He hasn’t really hit it yet… part of that thinking is to do with this playacting. He’s been down dozens and dozens of times, he gets up again. He’s completed four games, he hasn’t done too badly out of it.” O’Neill concluded.