The disciplinary rule was drafted to shield players from concealed slurs. The player it has now caught is Neymar.

Brazil’s Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD) handed the Santos forward a two-match ban on Wednesday for covering his mouth while arguing with Rodrigo Nestor during Santos’ 1-1 draw with Bahia at Vila Belmiro on 24 October. Combined with a separate one-match ban for accumulated yellow cards, Neymar is set to miss three fixtures in a row and is not expected back on the pitch until late November.

The ruling came from the court’s second disciplinary commission. Prosecutors had asked for a four-match ban; the panel settled on two, and the decision can still be appealed to the full chamber.

Half-time flashpoint at Vila Belmiro

The incident flared as the sides went back out for the second half. Neymar and Nestor had already clashed in the first period, and when their argument restarted, Neymar raised his hand to his mouth as he spoke to the Bahia man. Referee Sávio Pereira Sampaio did not see the gesture himself, but VAR flagged it and he showed Neymar a straight red card.

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Neymar’s lawyer, Marcelo Mendes, told the panel the gesture was not what the rule was written for.

“Not every gesture of covering one’s mouth is typified in the Vinícius Jr. Law, and the player brought his hand to his mouth instinctively,” Mendes argued.

The panel’s rapporteur Delmiro Campos was not persuaded.

“The gesture of covering the mouth in the context of a confrontation directed at the opponent… cannot be disputed,” Campos said in handing down the sanction.

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A rule named after Vinícius Jr.

The so-called Vinícius Law was introduced in Brazilian competitions ahead of this year’s World Cup. According to Yahoo Sports, the protocol was named after the Real Madrid winger, who earlier this year accused Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni of racially abusing him while covering his mouth with his shirt during a Champions League match. The rule lets referees, alerted by VAR, show a straight red card to any player who covers their mouth to speak to an opponent, on the grounds that the gesture is used to hide what is being said.

Three games out until Grêmio

The yellow-card suspension cost Neymar Santos’ Round 33 trip to Palmeiras on Wednesday. The tribunal ban then rules him out of the Round 34 fixture against Red Bull Bragantino on 2 November and the Round 35 trip to Coritiba, according to The Sports Encounter. If his appeal fails, his earliest return would be Santos’ home match against Grêmio on 22 November.

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