Jose Mourinho has come to the defence of Brazil’s World Cup star Neymar.

Neymar has been in fine form for Brazil this summer, scoring two goals and assisting one as the Selecao have reached the World Cup quarter-finals.

While his antics on the pitch are dominating the discussion, it is not for the right reasons.

It has been claimed that Neymar has spent 14 minutes on the floor either injured or feigning injury during the tournament, with his play-acting in full focus.

Manchester United manager Mourinho has absolved him of blame, however.

“People are focusing on Neymar, but if it was only Neymar I’d be happy – but it’s not only Neymar,” he told RT.

“Every team has lots of diving, lots of pretending, lots of putting pressure on the referee. The game loses quality, and for me that was the negative point.

“It’s not about England and Colombia, it’s almost every match, they are creating such a difficult job for the referees in every match. Even with VAR the players are creating problems.

“I was surprised to see central defenders like Harry Maguire, normally he is a very honest guy, diving in the attacking box asking the referee for VAR.

“The players should feel the responsibility of playing in the World Cup in front of billions of spectators.”