Neymar was involved in a furious row with officials after Santos claimed the forward had been wrongly substituted in their 3-0 defeat by Coritiba.
The 34-year-old was looking to impress a day before Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti names his squad for this summer’s World Cup.
However, he was substituted after 65 minutes for Robinho Jr when the fourth official held his number 10 up as Neymar was temporarily off the pitch to receive treatment on a calf injury.
It seemed Gonzalo Escobar should have been the player to make way and Neymar was yellow carded after trying to come back onto the pitch.
He then snatched the substitution slip from the officials and held it to a television camera to prove Escobar was meant to come off and not him.
Neymar eventually left the field and handed the captain’s armband to Escobar.
“The fourth official got the substitution wrong,” said a Santos statement on social media.
“This was confirmed by the television coverage and by the note used by the officials during the substitution. An inexplicable error that was not corrected.”
Neymar is Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer with 79 goals but has not played for his country since 2023 amid his struggles with injuries.
He extended his contract with Santos until the end of 2026 as he targeted a World Cup spot.
Brazil will open their World Cup campaign against Morocco on 13 June before facing Haiti and Scotland in the group stages of the tournament, which is being held in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
