Michael Owen slams referee for not showing Neymar a red card

London, February 16: PSG superstar Neymar should have been sent off for diving against Real Madrid, claims former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker Michael Owen.

The former Los Blancos striker turned TV pundit believes referee Gianluca Rocchi bottled the decision to show the £198million Paris Saint-Germain star a second yellow.

The 26-year-old was booked early on for a clumsy challenge on Nacho before the referee deemed him to have dived under pressure from Casemiro in the second half.

BT Sport pundit Owen, 38, said: "A couple of players were lucky to stay on the pitch. Neymar, a blatant dive, the referee spotted it and didn’t have the courage to send him off.

"The referee spotted it, I thought it was an automatic yellow card but obviously not."

Owen's colleague Paul Clement agreed, saying: "To the letter of the law, that's a second yellow."

Premier League players can be retrospectively banned for two matches following new rules introduced this season.

But simulation remains a problem in modern game, with Everton's Oumar Niasse and West Ham's Manuel Lanzini both receiving suspensions.

When asked how footballing chiefs can solve the issue, Owen was furious and said: "Referees not bottling it, for starters."

Neymar will be available for Real Madrid's trip to PSG next month.

The Ligue 1 leaders face a mammoth task to overturn a 3-1 defeat against the reigning champions. A Cristiano Ronaldo double and Marcelo strike saw Zinedine Zidane's men fight back after Adrien Rabiot's opener and they will head to Parc des Princes with much breathing space.

However, their comfort would have been doubled if Neymar had been shown a deserved second yellow card.