Neymar Criticizes Vila Belmiro Pitch After Copa do Brasil Exit

The mood at Vila Belmiro curdled fast.

Santos were already staring at the exit door after their 3-0 first-leg defeat to Palmeiras. Wednesday’s 0-0 draw only rubber-stamped their Copa do Brasil quarter-final elimination. The real shock came in the form of a grim injury list and an angry superstar.

Neymar lashes out at “worst pitch the stadium has ever seen”

Right on the stroke of half-time, Neymar pulled up with a right hamstring injury and trudged off, the tension in the stands turning into open fury. After the match, he took that anger online.

On Instagram, Neymar launched a fierce attack on the Vila Belmiro grounds staff, tearing into the state of the surface.

“I want to congratulate our groundsman at Vila Belmiro. Yesterday, it was the worst pitch the stadium has ever seen, riddled with holes, because they had to uncompact it the day before the match. Unbelievable!” he wrote, before describing how Santos had been “battling the pitch itself” as much as Palmeiras.

He complained that players had to make “extra effort during acceleration and braking because the surface was so uneven,” adding pointedly: “It’s no wonder three players got injured in the first half. Congratulations, then... What a load of crap job.”

The numbers backed up his anger on the night. Neymar’s hamstring problem was only the headline. Lucas Verissimo had already gone off with an ankle injury, and Barreal also failed to make it through a chaotic first half that turned into a running battle with the turf as much as the rival in green.

The football was flat. The atmosphere was not.

Injury fallout and a reshuffle for Sunday

The consequences arrive quickly now. According to ESPN, Neymar is a major doubt for Sunday’s Brasileiro clash with Internacional at Beira-Rio and is not expected to feature.

That forces an immediate tactical rethink. In his absence, Arthur is set to be pushed into a more advanced role, operating almost as a classic number 10 behind the forwards. The responsibility to create will fall on him at a time when Santos need a response, not excuses.

Palmeiras twist the knife online

If Santos were licking their wounds, Palmeiras were only too happy to pour salt into them.

Never ones to ignore a chance to poke a rival, the Alviverde social media team fired back at Neymar’s complaints with a heavily sarcastic post, turning his own words against him and drawing a pointed comparison between Vila Belmiro’s grass and their synthetic surface at Nubank Parque, where the first leg was played.

“We want to congratulate those responsible for the Nubank Parque field... No matter the day, the grass is always perfect and without holes, because it is cared for daily. You can believe it!” the club posted on Thursday.

They didn’t stop there. Palmeiras then mirrored Neymar’s grievances almost line for line: “Besides offering a good playing field for the opponent, our athletes feel safer because, during runs, the surface is always even. It’s no coincidence that Palmeiras is the Serie A club with the fewest injuries in the last five years... Congratulations, you know? Great job.”

On the pitch, Santos are out of the Copa do Brasil. Off it, the feud over grass, injuries, and professionalism has only just kicked off.