Nemisis catches up with Neymar

In January 2015, Neymar Jr had this to say in response to Ronaldo's reaction to provocation on the pitch... 'Anyone in this job is exposed to provocation and intimidation, especially strikers. What happened to Cristiano could have happened to anyone.
 but it cannot go unpunished. Sometimes you're provoked, like Zidane or me, but you have to focus on ignoring it. But I don't work for the competition's committee and I don't like to talk about other teams."

Just yesterday Barcelona striker, Neymar Jr, was involved in an altercation with a Manchester City fan in his team's 1-2 victory at the Etihad stadium in Manchester. The scene, was the first leg of the Champions league tie between two of football's powerhouses.As such, all eyes were on the Etihad Stadium last night. The Brazilian superstar was substituted after a sub par performance in the second half.While on the bench and seeing the game out, he had no idea his words would come back to hunt him. He was provoked to anger by a Portuguese speaking Manchester City fan letting himself down in the process.

This incident could see the Barcelona forward face disciplinary action by UEFA in the the days to come. With all this said, my take on the story is that footballers should be careful with the statements they make as competitors, as they never know when their statements could come back to hunt them. Neymar's reaction yesterday is a clear example.In Neymar's attempt to castigate a rival Ronaldo, he stated that when provoked the best cause of action as a footballer is to ignore provocation. He certainly was not able to practice what he preaches and could now face the same punishment he thought was right for Ronaldo.