The Brazilian was given a second yellow card in the 76th minute of Santos's 1-0 defeat to Botafogo, after he tried to flick the ball into the goal with his hand when attempting to convert a rebound.

Botafogo's players immediately appealed to the referee and Neymar's goal, which would have put it ahead, was chalked off.

The 33 year-old had already been booked in the first half, so was sent off for his actions.

Taking to Instagram Stories in the aftermath of the incident, Neymar wrote: "The desperation to score a goal sometimes makes us make mistakes. I want to apologise to my team-mates and also to the fans.

"I made a mistake, forgive me. Today, if I hadn't been sent off, I'm sure we would have got the three points. The team deserves congratulations for today's game."

Botafogo scored the only goal of the game 10 minutes after Neymar's red card, leaving Santos 18th in Brazilian Serie A.

The red card means Neymar will now be suspended for Friday's trip to Fortaleza, which is the final match before his contract expires at the end of June.

the game, meanwhile, was just his second league appearance since recovering from a hamstring injury picked up in April.