Brazil 3 Croatia 1: It's a scandal, cry Croatians after referee gifts hosts penalty
Coach Niko Kovac also furious at Japanese ref, saying he is out of his depth, as poster boy Neymar bags two goals
Furious Croatia defender Dejan Lovren branded the penalty awarded against him during Brazil’s 3-1 win in the World Cup opener on Thursday a “scandal”, questioning the referee’s right to be officiating at the showpiece event.
Unfancied Croatia took a shock lead when Marcelo put the ball into his own net early in the group A match before Neymar levelled in front of a jubilant crowd in the Corinthians Arena.
That was outright thuggery by a referee who was just out of his depth for a game of this magnitude
But the European side were holding their own in the second half until Japanese ref Yuichi Nishimura pointed to the spot after Fred backed into Lovren and fell.
“I’m sad, that’s it, because we played a good match and the referee – it wasn’t a mistake, it was a scandal. It’s a scandal for everyone, it’s a scandal for Fifa. I think this referee shouldn’t be at this World Cup,” said the Southampton player.
“I don’t know for what he deserved to be here. It’s really disappointing for us because I think we were playing a good game against a big team, Brazil.
“Two billion people I think saw that it was not a penalty. I didn’t touch him. We’re really disappointed but what can you do against 12 players? You can’t do anything,” he said.
Croatian coach Niko Kovac warned the World Cup could become a “circus” after the soft 71st-minute penalty.