Neymar believes Cristiano Ronaldo "needs to be punished" for the action that led to his red card last weekend, though the Barcelona star did commiserate with his La Liga rival about the incident.
Ronaldo kicked out in frustration at Cordoba's Edimar on Saturday to earn himself a straight red card and apologised after the game. The Ballon d'Or winner faces a ban of up to four games from La Liga's Competition Committee, according to AS.
Neymar said Ronaldo's action was wrong, but also stressed that players can often be provoked into wild retaliations, such as Zinedine Zidane's famous head-butt in the 2006 World Cup final, or his Brazil teammates' reactions after he suffered a tournament-ending injury last summer.
"It's easy to talk for those who aren't there. All players are exposed to that and sometimes we deal with it. It's bad, it's a negative thing. We can't do things like that, so I think he needs to be punished," Neymar told reporters on Monday. "It's hard too, because sometimes there might be a provocation, like happened to Zidane or to me. You need to work on that with your mind."
Ronaldo will learn the length of his ban after the committee meets on Wednesday, but Neymar would not speculate on how long Real Madrid should be without their talisman.
"I don't work in the Competition Committee. I don't know. It's a decision for the Committee," Neymar said. "I only think about my own team. In our play and how we train. I don't like talking about other teams, if they don't talk about us. If I worked at the Committee I'd tell you how many games he should be banned for."
Neymar said the referees are right to limit violent play, but he said protection shouldn't just be limited to top players.
"Not just for me, but for everyone playing," he said. "I think the referees should clamp down on tough play. It's the referee who can look after the players."
The 22-year-old also rejected Johan Cruyff's recent comments that Barcelona playing dual global superstars -- Neymar and Lionel Messi -- could lead to complications within the club.
"I don't know. I respect Cruyff's opinion. I think he was one of the best players in the world but yes, he's wrong there," Neymar said. "We're getting better all the time and this is the start. We can do so much.
"I've no problem. I've shared a dressing room with lots of players. I never had problems with Ronaldinho. I respect Messi and I'll always respect him. Of everyone I've seen play Messi is the best and I'll always have so much respect for him."