Furious Croatia coach Niko Kovac says the Japanese referee against Brazil was ‘out of his depth’

FURIOUS Croatia coach Niko Kovac says the Japanese referee against Brazil was “out of his depth” and 2.5 billion people saw there was no penalty.

Brazil's Fred, right, falls after making contact with Croatia's Dejan Lovren during the group A World Cup soccer match between Brazil and Croatia, the opening game of the tournament, in the Itaquerao Stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, June 12, 2014. At left is Croatia's Vedran Corluka. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

FURIOUS Croatia coach Niko Kovac says the Japanese referee in his side's 3-1 defeat to Brazil was “out of his depth” after a bitterly disputed penalty changed the course of the World Cup opener.

The unfancied European team took a shock lead when Marcelo scored an own goal in the 11th minute before Neymar levelled. Croatia, ranked 18th in the world, were holding their own in the second half until referee Yuichi Nishimura pointed to the spot after Fred backed into Croatian defender Dejean Lovren and fell.

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“If anybody saw that was a penalty, let them raise their hand. I cannot raise my hand. I didn't see it,” said Kovac.

“If you continue in this vein then there will be 100 penalties during this World Cup.”

Kovac branded the spot kick award “ridiculous”, saying he blamed himself for not saying during Wednesday's press conference that he would be “keeping a beady eye on the referee”.

Sub-type: comment CAPTION: Who was the bad guy?

No surprises that Brazil boss Luis Felipe Scolari disagreed.

Scolari said: “Thousands didn’t see the penalty? The referee saw it and he is the one that decides. We also think it was a penalty.

“I watched it 10 times and, for me, it was a penalty.”

Brazil's Fred successfully appeals.

The disappointed coach said he felt his team had deserved at least a point from the match, praising his players for their performance in front of passionate support for the home side. He said he did not blame Fred for his tumble.

“I cannot blame Fred because everybody tries to do that. This is part of the sport whether you like it or not. This is part and parcel of football.

Relief for Brazil.

“What I want is for the referees to stick to the laws of the game, applying them equally to both teams. The referee was well placed, he was not unsighted, he saw everything and he took that decision.”

The penalty wasn’t the only decision to frustrate Croatia, with Neymar’s elbow on Luka Modric yielding just a yellow card.

Kovacs added: “Kovac said: ‘I must say the referee was completely out of his depth.

“If someone’s not up to scratch to referee the first game then find someone else. Two and a half billion people saw this wasn’t a penalty.”

Originally published as Furious Croatia coach Niko Kovac says the Japanese referee against Brazil was ‘out of his depth’