Neymar, four others sent off as Marseilles beat PSG in chaotic French classic

 

Neymar was one of five players sent off after an injury-time brawl as Marseille beat Paris St-Germain 1-0 in Ligue 1 Sunday.

French forward Florian Thauvin scored the only goal as PSG lost their opening two league games for the first time since 1984-85.

PSG substitutes Leandro Paredes and Layvin Kurzawa, and Marseille’s Jordan Amavi and Dario Benedetto, were dismissed along with Neymar.

The referee watched a video assistant referee (VAR) replay of a punch by Neymar before showing the 28-year-old Brazil superstar a straight red card.

After the match, Neymar posted on social media to say that his “only regret” was not hitting Marseille’s Spanish defender Alvaro Gonzalez in the face, having struck him on the back of the head.

In response, Gonzalez denied claims of any wrongdoing, posting on social media: “There is no place for racism.”

In the post-match news conference Marseille manager Andre Villas-Boas said: “There is no place for racism in football but I don’t think that was the case.

“We’ll have to look at it.”

The game, which was watched by a crowd of about 5,000 fans at the Parc des Princes, set an unwanted record as there were 17 cards shown, a record for a Ligue 1 game in the 21st Century.