Neymar banned for three UEFA Champions League matches

Neymar has been suspended for the next three UEFA Champions League matches by UEFA on Friday, for insulting the match officials after Paris Saint-Germain were knocked-out of the competition this season by Manchester United.

The Brazilian was injured during the two legs, and during the second leg in the Round of 16, PSG suffered an astonishing 3-1 loss at home, which meant that they would go out on away goals. Apparently, Neymar told the match officials "to go f**k yourselves" on social media, which warranted him a ban from European games.

As a result, Neymar was found guilty of "insulting/molesting acts against match officials", with UEFA announcing this in a statement, after they had started to inquire about the star's outburst around the end of March.

Neymar was furious at how Manchester United were awarded a crucial injury-time penalty against the French champions, after Presnel Kimpembe had handled the ball, with the action having to be checked by the video assistant system (VAR). Marcus Rashford then proceeded to score the penalty and knock out the Parisians.

Neymar had to be restrained by members of the PSG staff after the decision was made, as they tried to stop him from entering the referee's dressing room.

This ban will mean that Neymar will miss the first three group stage matches of the UEFA Champions League next season.

With the Brazilian now fully recovering from the injury, and being set to start in the Coupe de France final against Rennes this weekend, his return to football has been met with the hefty game ban.