SANTOS, Brazil (AP) — Neymar has apologized for a red card that he says cost Santos a victory in the Brazilian league, claiming that “desperation” to score led to the mistake in what could be his final match with the club.
Neymar was sent off in the 76th minute of Santos’ 1-0 loss to Botafogo at home on Sunday after using his hand to score a goal.
Neymar’s contract with Santos ends at the end of June and Santos plays only one more league game before the break for the Club World Cup. Since Neymar is suspended for the next match and there’s still no deal to extend his contract, he may not play for the club again in this stint.
Realizing he was not going to reach the ball with his head before a defender could clear it away, Neymar used his right hand to push the ball into the net. The Brazil forward already had a yellow card and was shown his second by the referee, which immediately disallowed the goal. Botafogo then scored the winner in the 86th.
“Desperation to score a goal sometimes leads to mistakes,” Neymar said on Instagram. “I want to apologize to my teammates and to the fans. I made a mistake, forgive me. If I hadn’t been sent off, I’m sure we would have gotten the three points. Congratulations to the team for today’s game. You can put these three points on my account.”
Neymar did not have a problem with the second yellow but complained about the first one, which came for a foul late in the first half.
“The second yellow card has to be shown, but the referee has to be kidding about the first one,” he said. “It’s one foul and I’m already being shown a yellow.”
“It’s incredible how many bad referees there are out there. That’s my opinion, please don’t punish me even more,” he said, along with a laughing-face emoji.
Santos has only two wins in 11 league matches this year and sits in 18th-place in the 20-team standings, inside the relegation zone.
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FILE - Brazil's Neymar walk onto the pitch during his debut for Santos FC in a Sao Paulo league soccer match against Botafogo-SP, in Santos, Brazil, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, file)
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Freshman Ebuka Okorie had 36 points and nine assists and Stanford rallied from 12 points down in the second half to beat No. 14 North Carolina 95-90 on Wednesday night.
Okorie outdueled Tar Heels freshman star Caleb Wilson and helped the Cardinal (14-4, 3-2 ACC) knock off the Tar Heels (14-3, 2-2) for the second straight season as conference opponents. North Carolina had won all 13 meetings between the schools before coach Kyle Smith took over last season in Stanford's first year in the ACC.
Jeremy Dent-Smith hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:04 to play for his sixth long ball of the night to make it 88-87. After Wilson turned it over at the other end, Ryan Agarwal hit another 3 to but the Cardinal up by four points with 32 seconds to play.
The Cardinal held on from there for their second win over a ranked opponent this month after beating No. 16 Louisville at home on Jan. 2. That matches the most wins against ranked wins in a season for Stanford since the Cardinal had five in 2013-14 in the last season when they made the NCAA Tournament.
Dent-Smith and Agarwal each finished with 20 points as Stanford won despite playing without second-leading scorer Chisom Okpara, who is out with a lower-body injury.
Wilson and Henri Veesaar each scored 26 points for North Carolina.
North Carolina broke out to a 12-point lead early in the first half behind Veesaar, but Okorie got Stanford back into it with 17 points and five assists as the Cardinal cut it to 47-45 at the break.
The Tar Heels scored the first eight points of the second half and built the lead back to 12 before Stanford rallied.
North Carolina: Visits California on Saturday.
Stanford: Hosts Duke on Saturday.
North Carolina center Henri Veesaar, right, drives to the basket against Stanford forward AJ Rohosy during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson (8) shoots against Stanford during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Stanford forward Aidan Cammann, middle, dunks against North Carolina guard Jaydon Young (4) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie, right, drives to the basket against North Carolina guard Seth Trimble during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
