Thursday's World Cup opener between Brazil and Croatia had plenty of excitement, and it was also utterly scandalous.
With the match tied at one in the 72nd minute, Fred made a move for the ball in the Croatia penalty area. Dejan Lovren appeared to not make much contact with Fred, but Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura awarded Brazil a questionable penalty that Neymar converted in the 71st minute, giving the host nation 2-1 up in what turned into a 3-1 victory over Croatia in Group A play in the 2014 World Cup.
Referees make mistakes. Nobody should
get too exercised about one bad decision, not even one as obviously
wrong as the penalty.
What they should get worked up about was the obvious pattern. Let’s
be generous and say Yuichi Nishimura, the Japanese referee, was
overwhelmed by the occasion, but his was a performance so bad it made
you believe in conspiracies, or at least that Nishimura was swayed by
some sort of (misplaced) guilt, having sent off Felipe Melo for a stamp
on Arjen Robben when Brazil lost to the Netherlands in the quarterfinal
four years ago.
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