Colombia’s Camilo Zuniga apologizes to Neymar for World Cup injury

When long-term injuries occur in sports, it’s often tempting to demonize the perpetrator of the incident, as has been the case with Colombia’s Camilo Zúñiga in the wake of the injury he caused to Brazilian star Neymar during Colombia’s World Cup quarterfinal match against Brazil. While many commentators have depicted Zúñiga as a sore loser who purposely injured Neymar, and while some fans have taken to social media to harass Zúñiga’s family, the truth might be a bit more complicated, as demonstrated by a public statement Zúñiga recently released accepting blame and apologizing for the incident.

Explaining that he “deeply regretthe unfortunate injury Neymar suffered during the game,” Zúñiga explained that while he felt the “situation was normal in a game, there was no ill intent, malice or negligence” on his part. Wishing Neymar a “speedy recover,” Zúñiga also left a special message for Brazlians fans: To all the Brazilian fans, who now see one of their players–an exemplary human being–out of the World Cup, I send you a special message and all the support from the Colombian national team in your upcoming matches.
Despite being ruled out of Brazil’s historic World Cup campaign, Neymar seems in good spirits, as he recently left a video message to fans on his Facebook page.

Admitting that he was initially terrified by the incident, as he thought it would impact the upcoming season, Neymar took a moment to thank fans for their prayers, and that he was looking forward to his recovery.