Neymar Criticizes Santos Pitch After Injury in Copa do Brasil Exit
Neymar rages at ‘worst pitch the club has ever seen’ after injury in Santos exit
The night was already grim for Santos. A 3-0 defeat in the first leg to Palmeiras had left their Copa do Brasil quarter-final hanging by a thread, and a goalless draw in the return at Vila Belmiro sealed their exit. Then came the flashpoint.
Neymar limped off at the end of the first half with a thigh problem. The scoreboard hurt, but the pitch angered him far more.
Back in the dressing room and later on social media, the Santos idol unloaded. His target was not Palmeiras, nor the referee, but the grass beneath his boots.
“I would like to congratulate the person responsible for the Vila Belmiro stadium pitch,” he wrote on Instagram, the sarcasm dripping off the screen.
The tone didn’t stay playful for long.
“What happened yesterday was the worst pitch the club has ever seen,” he continued. “It was full of holes because of works carried out one day before the match. Unbelievable! Alongside playing against the opponent, we were also playing against the pitch.”
The frustration came from more than just aesthetics. Neymar pointed to the physical toll of a surface he described as “dreadful,” arguing that it forced players to strain just to stay upright and control the ball.
“And to make matters worse, we had to make a greater effort because of its dreadful condition. No wonder 3 players were injured in the first half. Well done indeed... very poor work!”
The numbers from the tie will show a 3-0 aggregate defeat. Neymar’s memory of the night will be the moment his thigh tightened and he had to come off.
“Unfortunately, I felt discomfort in my thigh,” he said. “I will undergo tests, and I hope it is not serious. We will keep our morale up and focus on what is coming.”
While Santos dealt with the fallout, Palmeiras chose a different route: mockery.
The São Paulo club fired back with a pointed, sarcastic statement of their own, turning the spotlight onto their Allianz Parque surface. They “praised” the condition of their pitch, stressing that it receives daily maintenance and, in their words, remains in perfect condition.
Their message carried a clear subtext. Palmeiras underlined that their players feel safer because of that standard and highlighted a statistic designed to sting: over the past five years, they say they are the Brazilian top-flight club least affected by injuries.
No names were needed. It was a direct response to Neymar’s blast and a reminder that, in Brazilian football, the battle of words can be just as sharp as anything that happens on the grass.
