Neymar given extra two-match ban for covering his mouth

Brazil’s Superior Court of Sports Justice has imposed an additional two-match suspension on Santos forward Neymar for covering his mouth during an argument with an opponent, leaving him set to miss three matches in total. The ruling concerns an incident in Santos’s Brazilian league match against Bahia last weekend. Neymar was sent off after an altercation with Bahia midfielder Rodrigo Nestor. The tribunal said Neymar’s gesture violated a protocol known in Brazil as the Vinícius rule, which bars players from covering their mouths during on-field confrontations. Neymar was already due to miss Santos’s match against Palmeiras because he had accumulated three yellow cards. The two-match punishment is additional to that suspension, bringing his expected absence to three games. Reports said he was not expected to return until late November. The referees’ report, as described by the tribunal, also recorded that Neymar ran toward the visitors’ bench after receiving his red card and had to be restrained by teammates. The additional ban was imposed for the mouth-covering incident; the report’s account describes events after his dismissal. Neymar’s lawyer argued that he covered his mouth...