Josep Bartomeu: 'Neymar not intimidated by opposition players and coaches'

Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu has praised forward Neymar for not being intimidated by opposition players and coaches.

After a heated Copa del Rey tie with Atletico Madrid, which saw the Brazilian forward bag two goals for Barcelona in their 3-2 victory, Neymar was branded "irritating" by Atletico's Gabi.

Neymar was reported to have been confronted by both the midfielder and coach Diego Simeone in the tunnel at half time, which allegedly led to Gabi's red card.

The incident has been denied by Atletico, but Barca's president has praised Neymar's attitude towards the incident.

"We currently have the best player in the world, which is [Lionel] Messi, and the footballing magic of Neymar, who is showing great maturity in his game without falling into the traps set by others," Bartomeu said, according to Goal.com.

"I am very proud of Neymar and how he is a person. We Barca fans really like his game and he is giving us a lot."

Atletico also had Mario Suarez sent off in the same game with five minutes left, leaving Barcelona to see the game out and advance to the semi-finals of the tournament.