The Brazil supporter that threw a bag of popcorn at Neymar after the Selecao drew 1-1 with Venezuela in their CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers has clarified the reason behind his action.
Brazil put up disappointing performance against their south American opponents, leaving the crowd frustrated. As Neymar was walking towards the tunnel after the game, a bag of popcorn suddenly flew in from the crowd and hit on his head. The incident left Brazilian superstar visibly angry. Brazil teammates dragged Neymar down the tunnel.
Selecao reaction
Brazil coach Fernando Diniz condemned the “disrespectful” incident in the post-match press conference. “I completely disapprove. Cursing and booing is fine. Throwing a bag of popcorn doesn’t do anything for anyone. It’s disrespectful towards those who came to play and tried to do the best they could,” Diniz had said.
Neymar also aired his frustration and condemned the incident after the game. “I condemn that type of attitude, it should not be done, it is very bad for football, for human beings. A guy who does this kind of thing is not an educated guy, he will not be able to educate his son in the best possible way. If he complains so much he should have trained better and been on the field.”
Didn’t mean to hurt him: Offender
However, Brazilian news portal Leo Dias has now released an audio clip of the offender. The man is heard to say that he did not mean to hit the Al Hilal striker.
“At the end of the game I went downstairs, where I was closer to the players. I was eating popcorn; Neymar came, I screamed, I called and he didn’t even look in my direction. I threw the popcorn at him , but I had no intention of saying that he was playing badly, I really did it to get his attention.
“It seems that I did it out of spite, but I didn’t do it out of spite, I did it to get his attention. I am a fan of his, I admire his football, it was not to hurt him, it was simply to draw attention so that he would look at the stands.”
