Martin O'Neill thought Miguel Layun should have seen red for his stamp treading on the ankle of Neymar during Brazil's last-16 win against Mexico on Monday. Beyond that, the Ireland manager had little sympathy for Neymar's well-being.
With 20 minutes to game in the game, Layun and Neymar were involved in a clash near the sideline. It resulted with Neymar on the ground and Layun attempting to retrieve the ball. As he did so, the Mexican substitute stood on Neymar's leg.
The Brazilian's reaction left you wondering if an amputation might be necessary.
"His reaction? It's pathetic. It’s absolutely pathetic, honestly" O'Neill said on ITV following the game.
It’s a red card nowadays because they’ve spotted standing on his foot. But I mean the pain threshold of Neymar is just incredibly low, I must admit. I wouldn’t like to see him coming out of the doctor’s surgery after getting a flu injection.
He’s a top-quality player, he’s a top-quality actor.
Slaven [Bilic] mentioned there that he hasn’t really hit it yet, part of that thinking is to do with this playacting. He’s been down dozens and dozens of times, he gets up again. He’s completed four games, he hasn’t done too badly out of it.
You can watch O'Neill speaking on ITV below.
Martin O'Neill is the hero we don't deserve #Neymar pic.twitter.com/UuAu6N0vnW
— Football Whispers (@FB_WHISPERS) July 2, 2018
