RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- FIFA will not take action against the Colombia player who injured Neymar and ended the Brazil star's World Cup.
FIFA said its disciplinary panel "cannot consider this matter" under the rules because the match referee saw the challenge by Camilo Zuniga and judged it at the time.
"In this specific case, no retrospective action can be taken," FIFA said in a statement on Monday, because the incident "did not escape the match officials' attention."
In a separate decision, the panel also refused to consider a Confederation of Brazilian Football appeal against captain Thiago Silva's yellow card in the 2-1 win quarterfinals over Colombia on Friday in Fortaleza.
Thiago Silva's second caution of the tournament triggered a one-match ban which he will serve in the semifinals. Brazil will therefore be without its best player and its captain against Germany on Tuesday in Belo Horizonte.
Neymar will be sidelined for about 45 days after sustaining a fractured third vertebra.
The panel studied video of Zuniga's 86th-minute challenge, where he kneed Neymar in the back when jumping into him at speed. Zuniga apologized on Saturday.
Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo did not show Zuniga a yellow card, and FIFA's disciplinary panel considered the incident judged on the spot.
The seriousness of an injury could not be weighed in a disciplinary decision, nor was mistaken identity a factor in the case, FIFA added.
"First and foremost, the chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee (Claudio Sulser) wishes to state that he deeply regrets the incident and the serious consequences on Neymar's health," the statement said.
The Luis Suarez biting case earlier in the World Cup raised expectations that Sulser's panel would also punish Zuniga.
However, Suarez's bite of Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini's shoulder was missed by match officials. That allowed Sulser to use video evidence to ban the Uruguay forward for nine international matches and four months.
The Mexican referee in that case, Marco Rodriguez, will handle the Brazil-Germany semifinal in his first match duty since Uruguay beat Italy 1-0 on June 24.
Thiago Silva was booked against Colombia for impeding goalkeeper David Ospina who tried to kick the ball downfield.
The FIFA disciplinary code states that cautions can be cancelled only in "exceptional circumstances."
The panel "cannot consider the matter given the fact that there is no legal basis entitling it to grant such request," FIFA said.
FORTALEZA, Brazil -- Neymar returned to Brazil's training camp in an ambulance after being ruled out of the World Cup because of a broken vertebra that will sideline him for four weeks.
Neymar flew back to Rio de Janeiro with the rest of his Brazil teammates following their 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Colombia in Fortaleza on Friday and rode the rest of the way to the team's camp in the mountain city of Teresopolis by ambulance.
The 22-year-old striker was kneed by Colombia defender Juan Camilo Zuniga late in the second half at the Arena Castelao, fracturing his third vertebra.
He was carried off the field in tears on a stretcher and "screamed in pain in the dressing room" before being taken to the hospital, the Brazilian confederation said in a statement early Saturday.
The injury is not expected to require surgery and the recovery time will be about four weeks, the confederation said.
It was not immediately clear if Neymar would remain with the rest of the team as it prepares for Tuesday's World Cup semifinal against Germany in Belo Horizonte. The squad isn't expected to leave the training camp until Monday.
Neymar is the biggest football star in Brazil and was one of the stand-out players of the World Cup so far, scoring four goals in the team's first three games.
He was hurt in the 86th minute, falling to the ground in pain after Zuniga jumped into him from behind.
"Everybody knew that Neymar would be hunted," Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said after the game. "It's been happening in the last three matches and we had been talking about it. But nobody listens to us."
Friday's match ended with 54 fouls in total -- 31 by Brazil and 23 by Colombia. Scolari said Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo should have done more to take control of the match.
According to Hulk
, another of Brazil's striker, Neymar needs more protection from the officials.
"Every time is like this. Players always come after Neymar," Hulk said. "The referees need to do more to keep this from happening."
Colombia defender Camilo Zuniga has sent a letter of apology to Neymar, saying he is "deeply sorry and sad" for causing the injury that knocked the Brazil striker out of the World Cup.
In a statement distributed Saturday by the Colombia team, Zuniga says "although I feel the situation was normal in a game, there was no bad intention, malice or negligence on my part."
Neymar, Brazil's key player at the World Cup, broke a vertebra in his back late in Friday's quarterfinal win over Colombia.
FIFA said its disciplinary panel "cannot consider this matter" under the rules because the match referee saw the challenge by Camilo Zuniga and judged it at the time.
"In this specific case, no retrospective action can be taken," FIFA said in a statement on Monday, because the incident "did not escape the match officials' attention."
In a separate decision, the panel also refused to consider a Confederation of Brazilian Football appeal against captain Thiago Silva's yellow card in the 2-1 win quarterfinals over Colombia on Friday in Fortaleza.
Thiago Silva's second caution of the tournament triggered a one-match ban which he will serve in the semifinals. Brazil will therefore be without its best player and its captain against Germany on Tuesday in Belo Horizonte.
Neymar will be sidelined for about 45 days after sustaining a fractured third vertebra.
The panel studied video of Zuniga's 86th-minute challenge, where he kneed Neymar in the back when jumping into him at speed. Zuniga apologized on Saturday.
Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo did not show Zuniga a yellow card, and FIFA's disciplinary panel considered the incident judged on the spot.
The seriousness of an injury could not be weighed in a disciplinary decision, nor was mistaken identity a factor in the case, FIFA added.
"First and foremost, the chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee (Claudio Sulser) wishes to state that he deeply regrets the incident and the serious consequences on Neymar's health," the statement said.
The Luis Suarez biting case earlier in the World Cup raised expectations that Sulser's panel would also punish Zuniga.
However, Suarez's bite of Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini's shoulder was missed by match officials. That allowed Sulser to use video evidence to ban the Uruguay forward for nine international matches and four months.
The Mexican referee in that case, Marco Rodriguez, will handle the Brazil-Germany semifinal in his first match duty since Uruguay beat Italy 1-0 on June 24.
Thiago Silva was booked against Colombia for impeding goalkeeper David Ospina who tried to kick the ball downfield.
The FIFA disciplinary code states that cautions can be cancelled only in "exceptional circumstances."
The panel "cannot consider the matter given the fact that there is no legal basis entitling it to grant such request," FIFA said.
FORTALEZA, Brazil -- Neymar returned to Brazil's training camp in an ambulance after being ruled out of the World Cup because of a broken vertebra that will sideline him for four weeks.
Neymar flew back to Rio de Janeiro with the rest of his Brazil teammates following their 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Colombia in Fortaleza on Friday and rode the rest of the way to the team's camp in the mountain city of Teresopolis by ambulance.
The 22-year-old striker was kneed by Colombia defender Juan Camilo Zuniga late in the second half at the Arena Castelao, fracturing his third vertebra.
He was carried off the field in tears on a stretcher and "screamed in pain in the dressing room" before being taken to the hospital, the Brazilian confederation said in a statement early Saturday.
The injury is not expected to require surgery and the recovery time will be about four weeks, the confederation said.
It was not immediately clear if Neymar would remain with the rest of the team as it prepares for Tuesday's World Cup semifinal against Germany in Belo Horizonte. The squad isn't expected to leave the training camp until Monday.
Neymar is the biggest football star in Brazil and was one of the stand-out players of the World Cup so far, scoring four goals in the team's first three games.
He was hurt in the 86th minute, falling to the ground in pain after Zuniga jumped into him from behind.
"Everybody knew that Neymar would be hunted," Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said after the game. "It's been happening in the last three matches and we had been talking about it. But nobody listens to us."
Friday's match ended with 54 fouls in total -- 31 by Brazil and 23 by Colombia. Scolari said Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo should have done more to take control of the match.
According to Hulk
, another of Brazil's striker, Neymar needs more protection from the officials."Every time is like this. Players always come after Neymar," Hulk said. "The referees need to do more to keep this from happening."
Colombia defender Camilo Zuniga has sent a letter of apology to Neymar, saying he is "deeply sorry and sad" for causing the injury that knocked the Brazil striker out of the World Cup.
In a statement distributed Saturday by the Colombia team, Zuniga says "although I feel the situation was normal in a game, there was no bad intention, malice or negligence on my part."
Neymar, Brazil's key player at the World Cup, broke a vertebra in his back late in Friday's quarterfinal win over Colombia.
No comments:
Post a Comment