Neymar alleges racial abuse as 5 players see red card after brawl in PSG's 1-0 defeat against Marseille

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star Neymar claimed he was racially abused after a brawl in the hosts' defeat against arch-rivals Marseille in Ligue 1 on Monday.

Key Highlights

• PSG lost 1-0 at home against arch-rivals Marseille in their second game of Ligue 1 season

• Brazilian superstar Neymar claimed he was racially abused in the game

• Neymar was one of the five players to be sent off after a red card in the game

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar Neymar was one of the five players to receive a red card following an ugly brawl in their Ligue 1 clash against arch-rivals Marseille on Monday. Marseille defeated the reigning French champions 1-0 with the help of a decisive goal from Florian Thauvin in the 31st minute. 

Tempers flared between the players from both sides on the pitch during the stoppage time after a clash between Marseille's Dario Benedetto and PSG midfielder Leandro Paredes following a challenge. Benedetto was seen in pain as he went on the ground instantly after the challenge from Paredes before stars from both sides were involved in an ugly brawl.

Neymar was spotted punching  Alvaro Gonzalez of Marseille as he became one of the five players to be sent off. Paredes, Neymar and Layvin Kurzawa were three players sent off from PSG while Jordan Amavi and Dario Benedetto of Marseille also saw reds. PSG were reduced to eight men and failed to avoid their first derby defeat against Marseille since November 2011.

Neymar was caught punching on the back of Gonzalez's head during the VAR check by the referee. After receiving his marching orders, the Brazilian forward was seen claiming racial abuse during the brawl. Neymar told the fourth official that a racial slur was thrown at him before leaving the pitch angry.

He later took to Twitter to react to the racial abuse and claimed that VAR only caught him but not the Marseille player who threw a racial slur at him. "VAR catching my “aggression” is easy ... now I want to see the image of the racist calling me “MONO HIJO DE PUTA” (monkey m****r) ... that I want to see," Neymar wrote on Twitter.

Marseille managed to hold on to their 1-0 lead in what turned out to be one of the most heated encounters of the season already. The game saw a staggering 10 yellow cards and 5 red cards being handed to players from both sides as things went from ugly to worse on the pitch. PSG have now lost their first two games of the Ligue 1 season without scoring a goal for the first time since 1978/79.