Football
Tuchel: Don’t be too hard on Neymar
…after post match rant
The Brazilian’s angry reaction to his side’s loss was natural and in the moment, according to the club’s head coach
head coach Thomas Tuchel defended Neymar after the star’s fired off an angry response to the penalty awarded to on Wednesday.
PSG crashed out of the in the last 16 after a 3-1 loss at home to United, bowing out on away goals following a 3-3 aggregate draw.
Marcus Rashford converted a 94th-minute penalty for United after Presnel Kimpembe was ruled to have handled in the area, the referee awarding the spot-kick with the help of VAR.
Neymar, sidelined with a foot injury, used , calling it a “disgrace” and saying the handball “simply doesn’t exist!”
However, Tuchel said it was only natural for the and PSG star to react angrily after the difficult defeat.
“Sometimes when you remember yourself in a big, big fight and you remember being very emotional you use words and you react in a way that you take back some hours later,” he told a news conference.
“You see how emotional he is and how he lives with us and how badly he wanted to help us and Ney, coming back – latest in the quarter-finals – and coming today and biting his nails for every game we play without him. So don’t be too harsh on him.
“It’s, like I said, hard to accept for all of us who could not play and could do nothing.
“I would not over-interpret the use of his words in the heat of the challenge and the moment of the decision. It’s quickly typed into a smartphone.”
And while Tuchel was coming to the defense of Neymar, Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi came out to back his manager following the disappointing loss.
“I trust the coach,” he said, via L’Equipe .
“We will see his decision if he wants to change or if he does not change, but it’s not because we lose a match that we have to act now.
“We must make decisions with a cool head, but this is not the moment. We want to calm down.
“We want to see what the coach wants too. It’s very important.”
-
Featured4 days agoBREAKING NEWS: Shouts of joy rock the world as Pastor Chris opens final Healing Streams edition for 2026
-
Football5 days agoMan United shortlist Emery, Nagelsmann as potential replacements for Carrick
-
Business5 days agoHoodlums raid JED Benue office, abduct 10 staff over power dispute
-
Football5 days agoAston Villa ready to freeze out Garnacho to avoid £43m Chelsea transfer
-
Business1 week agoNaira faces exchange rate gap as Dollar hits N1,380 on parallel market
-
Latest4 days agoAkpabio tasks Tompolo-backed movement with spreading Tinubu’s renewed hope message
-
Business5 days agoEV adoption: Roxettes seeks cheaper financing, local manufacturing incentives
-
Business4 days agoHow Ethiopian Airlines is challenging Africa’s aviation narrative through self-reliance


