The opening match between 2014 World Cup host country Brazil and Croatia was not a good start for FIFA's referees. Japan's Yuichi Nishimura, who was the officiating referee on Thursday's opener, has been heavily criticized for what appeared to be dodgy decisions in the home team's 3-1 victory over the other, the Huffington Post said.
When Brazilian player Fred went down in the penalty area under an apparent light and questionable contact by Croatia's defender, Nishimura issued a yellow card and awarded a game-changing penalty kick to Brazil, of which Neymar have obviously scored for his national team. Neymar later on scored another goal, and a teammate eventually sealed Brazil's victory over Croatia.
Long time and erudite British sports journalist Norman Giller chimed in to players who have often faked their way to have opportunities to score, and this is not looking good for FIFA, who is already plagued with a corruption scandal concerning the 2022 World Cup hosting rights, among others. He said, From the World Cup to the English Premier League, cheating has become part of the fabric of the game. What a shame."
John Fulgoni, who has worked for the organizing committee in Los Angeles for the 1994 World Cup, believed that Nishimura's performance in Thursday's opener could be a preview on what players will be expecting from referees throughout the month-long tournament. He said, "The refs have been told by the governing body to toughen up on something -- only FIFA won't tell us what. However, I think it's "unnecessary roughness" -- excessive use of hands and arms, holding or obstructing opponents. Before the penalty decision in Croatia v Brazil, which under the above strict enforcement may just have been a penalty, the ref called over two players who had tangled in the Croatia penalty area and gave them a stern talking to for the kind of jockeying that goes on in every league in the world. Even if the new interpretation is a good one, changing it on the eve of World Cup is asking for inconsistency and disastrous decisions like we saw today."
FIFA has yet to comment on the issue about the Brazil-Croatia match, but if Fulgoni's assumption holds true, it might be the global soccer body's attempt to discourage famous "alleged" floppers in sports, including Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, Netherland's Arjen Robben, and Uruguay's Luis Suárez, the Huffington Post said. The paper also recalled 2002 World Cup winner Brazilian Rivaldo, who had reportedly earned himself in simulation's "hall of infamy" when he reacted in fake agony while grabbing his face, writhing after a rival kicked a ball at him and the ball gently bouncing off his legs.
