Neymar banned 3 matches after sarcastic clap, will miss El Clasico

Neymar's initial one-match suspension for being sent off in Saturday's 2-0 defeat to Malaga has been extended to three games for his sarcastic clap at referee Jesus Gil's performance, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) confirmed Tuesday.

His ban will encompass Barcelona's domestic tilts with Real Sociedad, Real Madrid, and Osasuna.

The Brazilian forward's punishment is similar to one received by former Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti, when he had to serve a two-match touchline ban in 2015 for addressing officials "with attitudes of contempt or disregard" after his own sarcastic clap.

Neymar's act of petulance came after he was dismissed for picking up two yellow cards in Andalusia. The first caution was when he was tweaking his boots, which delayed a Malaga free-kick. He received his marching orders following another caution when he performed a late and unnecessary barge on Diego Llorente in the 65th minute.

It was the 25-year-old's first red card for the Blaugrana, and comes at an inopportune time. The club is positioned three points behind La Liga leader and great rival Real Madrid ahead of El Clasico on April 24.

Amid the scrutiny of Neymar's sanction, he'll be available for both legs of Barca's Champions League quarter-final meeting with Juventus; the first match is contested Tuesday in Turin. He's set to return to domestic commitments at Espanyol on April 29.

When Neymar last missed an outing due to an abductor concern last month, Barcelona's front three of Deportivo La Coruna was made up of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Arda Turan. Luis Enrique's lot lost that encounter in Galicia by a 2-1 scoreline.