Ref in focus after opener drama
Print Edition
JUST one game into the World Cup, and referees are already in the spotlight.
The refereeing standards at the World Cup are always hotly debated, and Yuishi Nichimura made sure this one won’t be any different after a controversial performance in the opening match on Thursday.
For Croatia coach Niko Kovac, the Japanese official was out of his depth on such a big stage, and risked making “a circus” of the World Cup.
“I usually never attack referees, but this time I can only say: shameful,” Kovac said after his team’s 1-3 loss to a Brazil swung on a questionable second-half penalty. “This is a robbery.”
Nichimura pointed to the spot when Brazil’s powerful forward Fred fell to ground from a slight touch on his upper left arm by Dejan Lovren.
Neymar converted the 71st-minute penalty, giving the host nation a 2-1 lead after trailing early in the match.
Some referees may not even have allowed Neymar to stick around for that long. Nichimura showed the Brazil star just a yellow card in the 26th for pushing a forearm into the throat of Croatia playmaker Luka Modric.
That incident sparked the first agitated clamor around the referee, and more followed as Croatian frustration grew late in the game and after the final whistle. The message seemed to be lost.
“I never saw in my life that a referee don’t speak English,” said defender Vedran Corluka, though it is required of World Cup referees. “He was speaking something in Japanese.”
So the World Cup has its usual refereeing furor earlier than usual.
Not surprisingly, Brazil’s media yesterday saw Lady Luck as having had a hand in the win with one news outlet even thanking the Japanese referee for awarding the controversial penalty.
“The Cup is ours. Neymar is ours. Oscar (who scored the third goal) is ours. Croatia’s goal is ours. And the ref is ours, too,” the paper observed.
“Everything is ours!”
Globo daily also gave Nishimura credit with a headline that said simply: “Arigato! (thank you in Japanese).”
“The Japanese saw a non-existent penalty on Fred,” Globo added, while a commentary in the paper concluded Brazil had achieved “a deserved win by undeserved means.”
Japanese fans took to social media yesterday to express regret and shame over Nishimura’s contentious calls
Some twitter posts featured mocked-up photos of Nishimura wearing a Brazil jersey. Popular singer Hikaru Utada tweeted that she hoped Croatian people wouldn’t dislike all Japanese people because of Nishimura’s performance.
Nichimura worked four matches at the 2010 World Cup but is best known, ironically, for sending off Brazil defender Felipe Melo in its quarterfinal exit against the Netherlands.
Then, FIFA rewarded Nichimura by naming him fourth official to England’s Howard Webb in the testy final between Spain and the Dutch.
While FIFA never publicly criticizes its referees, Fred’s successful flop means Nichimura is unlikely to stick around for the final this time.
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