Thiago Silva: 'Juan Camilo Zuniga tackle on Neymar was cowardly'

Thiago Silva has claimed that the challenge which ended Neymar's participation in the World Cup was a "cowardly" tackle from Juan Camilo Zuniga.

Neymar fractured a vertebra in his back when he was caught by Zuniga's knee in the closing stages of Brazil's 2-1 victory over Colombia in their quarter-final on Friday, and Silva believes that the defender was keen to hurt the Barcelona forward with the tackle.

"In my opinion, it was a cowardly tackle. I'm a defender and you don't do that," Silva told reporters.

"There's no way you put a knee behind a player to get a ball in front, unless you want to cause a certain situation."

FIFA confirmed on Monday that Zuniga would face no punishment for the challenge.