Unai Emery blasts decision to send off Neymar.. and blames GRASS for Marseille draw
The £198million superstar was shown a red after reacting badly to a tackle by Lucas Ocampos which was his second yellow
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN boss Unai Emery has defended Neymar after his red card — and blamed the performance on the grass.
The £198million striker was dismissed after reacting to a late challenge by Lucas Ocampos and earning himself a second yellow three minutes from time.
But Edison Cavani's free-kick helped earn the Ligie 1 leaders a point but Emery was furious with how Neymar was treated during the fiery clash.
He said: "We are a little disappointed about the sending off because he was fouled a lot throughout the match.
"I think the referee [Ruddy Buquet] also needs to think well. We must protect the players.
"The yellow card, I think it's not fair to Neymar. He's a player who wants to play, but if every game he is provoked... [there will be] aggression.
I think it's a job to protect the important players in both teams."
Luiz Gustavo put Marseille ahead before Neymar equalised.
Florian Thauvin thought he had won the game for Marseille 12 minutes from time but Cavani levelled in the 93rd minute.
But Emery said the grass on the pitch was too long and hampered their passing and slowed down their game.
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Emery added: "The result is right. The difficulty for us was that the grass was longer and the match had less rhythm.
"We wanted more rhythm, more play, but it was difficult. They had an opportunity and they scored in the first-half.
"After 2-1 and the sending off it was difficult for us but the character of the team helped us draw."
Neymar will now miss PSG's clash with Nice on Friday but stay top of Ligue 1 by four points.
