RIO DE JANEIRO.- A court in the state of Rio de Janeiro annulled a fine of more than three million dollars that a local authority imposed on the soccer player Neymar for alleged environmental damage in the construction of an artificial lake in his mansion.
Neymar had been fined in July 2023 by the mayor’s office of Mangaratiba, a tourist municipality located about 130 km from Rio, where the Brazilian national team’s all-time top scorer has a residence.
‘Ney’ was accused of “causing pollution” in two bays in the region for having dumped construction waste into their waters.
But now the court has determined that “the annulment” of the fine should be declared due to failures in the investigation, according to a ruling obtained by AFP this Tuesday.
The violation was based solely on “photographs and videos sent” in October 2019, “through an anonymous complaint” and the environmental authorities did not confirm the information, questioned the judge in charge of the case.
Furthermore, the defense of the former player of the Paris Saint Germain presented a technical expertise according to which the quality of the water in the region on the date of the alleged spill was within the tolerated values.
“The investigations were initiated due to the immense media hype that surrounded the case, solely due to the implication of the author’s name, who is a world-renowned athlete,” Neymar’s legal team alleged.
The fine of 16 million reais, a little more than three million dollars at the current exchange rate, had been suspended since 2024.
The 34-year-old attacker returned in 2025 to Brazil to play in Saintsthe club of his loves.
Since then, frequent injuries have prevented him from shining in the Peixe shirt and the goal of playing for the World 2026 with the Brazilian team seems to be moving away.
Norway and Switzerland do not hurt each other
Norway and Swissalready classified for the World Cup 2026tied 0-0 this Tuesday in a friendly match played in Oslo that will not go down in history due to the brilliance and intensity of the game.
The Norwegians were far from the level shown in their World Cup qualifying phase, sealed with eight victories in as many games, and with the best attack in the area Europe (37 goals).
Despite the return of their star striker Erling Haalandwho enjoyed a rest last week in Norway’s loss to Netherlands (2-1), the men of Stale Solbakken They were ineffective against the goal The Nati.
The center forward of Atlético de Madrid, Alexander Sorlothnot used to playing in the winger position, nevertheless had chances to open the scoring (60, 68) for the Scandinavian team.
