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.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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)
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 12, 2026--
Today, a leading global wedding technology platform The Knot Worldwide (TKWW), announced the appointment of Michael Pickrum as Chief Financial Officer. With more than 25 years of experience in strategic finance, operations, and business development within the media and technology industries, Pickrum will oversee TKWW’s global finance organization. Pickrum joins TKWW at an exciting moment as the company celebrates its 30-year anniversary and continues to grow and scale with a focus on product innovation.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260112910392/en/
Pickrum joins TKWW from Maximum Effort, the media, marketing, and investment company co-founded by Ryan Reynolds, where he served as Chief Financial Officer. Before this, he held the roles of COO and CFO at ExecOnline, Inc., a B2B online leadership development company. Pickrum spent over 17 years at BET/Viacom, where he served as EVP and CFO starting in 2007. Prior to that, he was COO of BET Interactive. He earned his master's and bachelor's degrees in engineering from Stanford University and his MBA from The Wharton School.
“I am thrilled to be joining TKWW at such an important time in the company’s journey,” said Michael Pickrum, CFO, TKWW. “There is incredible power in celebrations and I am looking forward to working with the exceptional team at TKWW to further enable our millions of couples and 900,000 small business owners around the world to celebrate life’s most meaningful moments.”
“Michael is a world-class financial and operations leader with an impressive track record of driving strategic growth and operational excellence across media and technology companies,” said Raina Moskowitz, CEO, TKWW. “As we continue to grow and scale with a focus on product innovation, Michael’s deep expertise in strategic planning, analysis, and capital allocation will be critical to our ongoing success. We are thrilled to have him join our team and help guide TKWW through our next phase of growth.”
Pickrum is based in New York, NY and reports to TKWW Chief Executive Officer Raina Moskowitz.
About The Knot Worldwide
Across North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia, The Knot Worldwide champions the power of celebration. The company’s global family of brands provides best-in-class products, services, and content to take celebration planning from inspiration to action. Through its wedding brands, including The Knot, WeddingWire, Bodas.net, Hitched.co.uk, Mariages.net, Matrimonio.com, and others, the company offers an extensive database of hundreds of thousands of wedding professionals to assist couples in organizing the happiest day of their lives. We have a brand for every kind of celebration—from booking a birthday party, to planning a wedding, to preparing to become a parent, and every moment in between.
Michael Pickrum, courtesy of The Knot Worldwide
