Neymar on Gary Medel stamp: 'This is football, not UFC'

Neymar on Gary Medel stamp: "This is football, not UFC."

Brazil forward Neymar says he feels the Chilean national team and especially midfielder Gary Medel used rough tactics during Brazil's 1-0 friendly win over Chile on Sunday.

Medel was seen stepping on Neymar’s calf during the match but did not receive a card from the referee.

The lone goal in the match came on a strike by Roberto Firmino in the 72nd minute. The victory by Brazil extended their winning streak to eight matches.

Neymar strongly criticized Chile's tackling. 

"That can't be considered part of the game, no. If we say that is part of the game, then the name [of the sport] is wrong. We can't call it football - we should call it UFC,” Neymarsaid, according to Eurosport. “But what can we do? The referee didn't see it. He's there but he didn't see it. There are four officials and nobody saw anything.”

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Neymar also said that referee Martin Atkinson, who did not see the tackle, should pay more attention to the match.

“We have someone on the pitch who's in charge, and he has to issue a punishment. You have to have an eye on these things,” he said.

"The decision is the referee’s and we can’t talk too much about it. Chile have a great team, very dynamic, but some players make mistake,” Brazil head coach Dunga added. “These days we have 300 cameras focusing on the action so you have to play football. My players were not protected very much."

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