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FIFA World Cup 2018: Neymar ‘acting’ against Mexico a poor example - Juan Carlos Osorio
Juan Carlos Osorio hit out at Italian referee Gianluca Rocchi’s handling of their 2-0 FIFA World Cup 2018 Round of 16 loss to Brazil, claiming Neymar play-acted on Monday.
Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio has blasted Neymar’s “acting”, after Brazil condemned his side to a seventh consecutive World Cup last-16 exit.
Neymar - who scored the Selecao’s first goal in a 2-0 win - reacted in dramatic fashion after clashing with Miguel Layun on the touchline with 20 minutes remaining.
The Mexico substitute did appear to make contact with the Brazil superstar’s leg, but the challenge hardly seemed worthy of the histrionics that followed, and referee Gianluca Rocchi was not convinced to brandish a card.
READ | FIFA World Cup 2018: Tite lauds ‘top-notch’ Neymar as Brazil beat Mexico
Osorio was furious with the Paris Saint-Germain forward following the game, and believes his time-wasting hampered El Tri’s chances of finding a leveller before Roberto Firmino’s late second put the result beyond doubt.
Osorio told his post-match media conference: “Unfortunately, it’s a shame we wasted a lot of time because of one single player.
“This is a real shame for football. We lost our style in the second half, due to the referee’s style of too many stoppages and my players got tired of that situation.
“There was a situation where there was a four-minute stoppage and that’s a poor example for the world of football and all the children.
“It’s a strong sport, a man’s sport and I think there shouldn’t be so much acting.”
Meanwhile, Osorio - who has been in charge of Mexico since 2015 - refused to be drawn on his future in the immediate aftermath, saying the situation would become clearer in the coming days.
“This is the most irrelevant thing right now,” he added. “We just lost a very important match. It’s very painful so we will wait and see what happens over the next few days, you’ll see what I decide soon.”
