We haven’t seen an Olympian this angry since Michael Conlan was robbed of a medal.
The Irish boxer’s fury was understandable after judges somehow scored his bantamweight boxing bout in favour of Vladimir Nikitin last Tuesday.
Neymar’s anger isn’t quite as easy to understand.
The Brazilian footballer had just won gold for the host nation in the Olympic football competition at the Maracana in Rio, scoring the winning penalty in a dramatic shootout victory over Germany.
He had just collected his gold medal, was basking in the adulation of the Rio crowd and taking part in a victory lap, when he let rip at a fan.
You’d think Brazil’s first Olympic gold medal in football, and going someway to exercising the demons of their 7-1 loss to Germany in the World Cup two years ago, would be a joyous occasion, but Neymar was furious.
https://twitter.com/ricardoagalvao/status/767383813504765952
The Barcelona forward, who was in tears at the conclusion of the game, let his emotions get the better of him.
According to James Young, an Irish journalist based in Brazil, the incident could be in relation to criticism Neymar received earlier in the game.
While it’s difficult to condone Neymar’s outburst, it does show the pressure he was under to deliver as Brazil captain.
think couple of fans criticised him earlier in match, he recognised them after & lost it. At least learnt something from Dunga.
— James Young (@seeadarkness) August 22, 2016
