CAS reduce Neymar Champions League ban

Neymar has had his Champions League ban reduced by the Court of Abritration for Sport on appeal.

PSG and the Brazilian had appealed against the three-game ban imposed by European governing body UEFA in June, and CAS partially upheld the appeal.

Neymar labelled the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system “a disgrace” after PSG were eliminated from the Champions League last 16 by Manchester United after the Premier League side were awarded a decisive last-gasp penalty in a 3-1 win at the Parc des Princes.

The striker did not feature in the game due to a metatarsal injury but watched from the stands in horror as United turned around a 2-0 deficit to see PSG crash out of the Champions League in the first round of the knockout stages for the third year in a row.

Neymar will be eligible to play in the Champions League in the third round of matches, when PSG travel to Club Brugge on Oct. 22.

However, he will still miss crucial clashes with Real Madrid and Galatasaray, their two stronger opponents in the group.

His absence will be in particularly sharp focus because of the absence of two of his superstar team-mates.

PSG confirmed earlier today that both Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe will miss the visit of Real Madrid with hip and hamstring injuries respectively.

Cavani lasted just 14 minutes of PSG’s Ligue 1 clash with Toulouse last month before he had to be taken off and the day went from bad to worse for the French champions as Mbappe followed him down the tunnel in the second half.

But both players are expected to be back in training before the end of the week and should feature in the second round of Champions League matches when PSG face Galatasaray.

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