Neymar drops racism claim

Rio De Janeiro: Santos’ soccer star Neymar says he will not take action against Ituano coach Roberto Fonseca after mistakenly accusing him of making a racial taunt.

Neymar said Thursday that he has put the incident behind him and was tired of being harassed on the pitch, reports Xinhua.

“I think I misunderstood him,” Neymar said. “Let’s forget about it. I’m sick and tired of being harassed on the pitch.”

The 20-year-old Brazil international was involved in an angry exchange with Fonseca during the first half of their Campeonato Paulista match Wednesday.

The Barcelona and Real Madrid target was captured by television cameras asking the coach if he had called him a monkey.

Fonseca responded by saying he had accused the player of diving to win free-kicks.

“He must be deaf. I told him he was always going to ground and that the referee always gives him free-kicks,” said Fonseca.