Brazil condemn supporters after popcorn bag thrown at Neymar

Brazil coach Fernando Diniz strongly condemns the “disrespectful” incident involving Neymar, who was struck on the head by a bag of popcorn thrown from the stands after his team’s 1-1 home draw with Venezuela.

The incident occurred just as Neymar was walking down the tunnel of the Arena Pantanal stadium at the conclusion of Thursday’s 2026 World Cup qualifier.

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Neymar, who played the entire game, had to be restrained by Diniz as he angrily pointed and shouted at the fans seated in the area where the object was thrown.

In his post-match interview, Diniz expressed his strong disapproval of the incident, stating, “Cursing and booing is acceptable. However, throwing a bag of popcorn has no positive impact on anyone.

“It displays disrespect towards those who came to play and gave their best effort,” he added.

Diniz also expressed frustration over Brazil’s failure to secure a victory in the match, resulting in Argentina surpassing them in the standings.

On Thursday, Argentina defeated Paraguay 1-0, maintaining a perfect record in the qualifiers and extending their lead to two points over Brazil after three games.

“We had opportunities for a second, third, fourth goal,” Diniz lamented. “Our finishing was poor. Additionally, we shouldn’t have conceded Venezuela’s goal.

“We should have adjusted our marking and prevented the opponent from finishing. However, the team didn’t perform poorly. The players struggled with the heat and the difficult pitch conditions,” he explained.

Brazil’s next qualifying match is against Uruguay in Montevideo on Tuesday.