Dani Alves blasts referee for Neymar red card: 'Everyone here is against Brazil'

Dani Alves has found a scapegoat in his attempt to absolve teammate Neymar of any wrongdoing during the altercation that blighted the Selecao's 1-0 loss to Colombia on Wednesday.

Not surprisingly, it's the referees. It's always the referees.

Neymar was shown a red card for an apparent headbutt on goalscorer Jeison Murillo, which incensed Carlos Bacca to the point that the Colombian striker delivered a fierce two-handed shove to the back of the unsuspecting Brazilian captain. He too saw red for his involvement.

But while Bacca's one-match suspension can be overcome by Los Cafeteros, the impending ban of the Brazilian captain could prove a fatal blow to a team that has been entirely dependent on the Barcelona attacker to generate offensive output.

Naturally, the Selecao are not pleased about the 23-year-old's suspension - which could grow to two matches on Friday after a meeting of the Conmebol Disciplinary Tribunal. Alves, outspoken at the best of times, is the one leading the charge. Neymar's club teammate claims that the fault lies with referee Enrique Osses for the way the incident unfolded on Wednesday evening.

"Referees have to stop thinking that they are the stars," Alves said. "The stars are not them - they are there to control the game. We are used to this in South America - everyone here is against Brazil."

"They know the personality of Neymar and they went in search of him," he added of the Colombian players. "They tried to provoke him and make him nervous."

Brazilian manager Dunga, however, had a more level-headed assessment of the situation, putting the onus on his team to handle hostile moments in a more mature manner.

"Colombia showed that it is a very experienced team. Our players at times got caught in their provocations and forgot to play football," he said.

"Brazil has to play football. Brazil can't go to war, we have to focus on what we do best, which is play football."