The French champions have received a European boost.
Neymar’s Champions League ban for insulting match officials has been reduced to two games.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has cut the Paris Saint-Germain striker’s initial three-match suspension after he was found guilty of directing abusive language towards a referee or assistant.
“The Sole Arbitrator partially upheld the appeal and reduced the suspension imposed by UEFA on Neymar Jr. to two (2) UEFA competition matches for which he would otherwise be eligible,” CAS said in a statement.
Neymar vented his frustration on social media after his club was knocked out of the Champions League by Manchester United in March. He didn’t play due to injury but posted insulting comments about VAR officials after Paris Saint-Germain conceded a stoppage-time penalty.
PSG challenged the decision and, after UEFA had initially dismissed the claim, the Ligue 1 champions appealed to CAS, who ruled on Tuesday that the Brazil international will now serve a two-match ban.
The ruling means that the world’s most expensive player following his move from Barcelona for €222 million in 2017 will will be back to face Club Brugge on 22 October, but he will still miss the Group A matches against Real Madrid this Wednesday and the trip to Galatasaray in two weeks.
The former Barcelona forward was heavily linked with a summer move back to Spain and was jeered by the PSG supporters on his return to the team for Saturday’s 1-0 win over Strasbourg.
SEE ALSO:
- Barcelona may close Camp Nou over Antoine Griezmann transfer
- PSG received outstanding Neymar bid from unexpected suitor
