The quarterfinal match between Brazil and Colombia on Friday had many dubbed the game as a classic example of sloppy refereeing at the World Cup. As such, the game no doubt earned comments from Germany, who would be facing the host nation in the semifinal on Tuesday in Belo Horizonte.
According to Bastian Schweinsteiger, Brazil should not have been allowed to get away with "hard tackling" at the World Cup, Daily mail reported. Schweinsteiger is also publicly calling for the tournament referees assigned to the match to keep a keen eye on Luis Felipe Scolari's side. The hosts' team had committed 31 fouls during its game with Colombia, and with the latter making 23 offenses. Juan Zuniga's foul was among the most talked-about offense at the game, as his offense when he was challenged by Brazilian player Neymar went unnoticed by the referee. Neymar is currently suffering a fractured vertebrae as a result of Zuniga landing a knee on the former's back in collision. World Cup Golden Boot winner-in-the-running James Rodriguez also complained about the refereeing, as he himself had been the subject of "hard tackling" by Brazil's Fernandinho.
Schweinsteiger stated, "'I am all for a healthy hardness but some of Brazil's fouls were over the limit. Brazilians are not only football magicians, hard tackling is part of their game - we have to be careful and so does the referee."
Germany assistant coach Hansi Flick also shared his player's view and added, "Brazil is an outstanding team that plays at the limit of the allowed and will go over the limit if necessary. (Neymar's injury) It's definitely a loss for Brazil, Neymar has lived up to expectations, but his absence can unite the team more and we expect a very strong opponent."
Schweinsteiger is also not discounting Neymar and Thiago Silva's absence in the semifinal. Silva was issued with a yellow card in the said controversial match. The Bayern Munich midfielder added, "(Although) we are all very sad that Neymar is not playing, (Brazil's squad will be even more tightly knit as they) will try to win the title for Neymar."
