Montevideo (Uruguay) Sep 21 (IANS) Former Uruguay international striker Diego Forlan has leapt to the defence of compatriot Edinson Cavani after the French football club Paris Saint-Germain striker s on-pitch row with teammate Neymar.
Cavani and Neymar grabbed headlines for all the wrong reasons when they twice argued over set piece duties during Paris Saint-Germain s 2-0 victory over Lyon in France s Ligue 1 on Sunday reports Xinhua news agency.
"Edinson deserves respect " Forlan told Uruguayan radio station Sport 890. "He has been scoring for years and is very good at converting penalties. Neymar wouldn t have acted that way with (former Barcelona teammate) Lionel Messi. He behaved like a child."
Cavani and Neymar first argued over who would take a free kick with the Brazilian eventually getting his way after his countryman Dani Alves took the ball out of the Uruguayan s hands.
The pair clashed again when Cavani refused Neymar s request to take a spot-kick only to see his own shot saved by Anthony Lopes.
Forlan also criticized Alves role in the dispute.
"It was between Neymar and Cavani " the former Manchester United Internazionale and Atletico Madrid striker said. "These things happen in all teams. But the attitude of Alves doesn t make any sense."
Neymar has scored five goals in seven matches across all competitions since joining Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona for a world record fee of 222 million euros last month.
--IANS
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