The Battle of Nuremberg: The Dirtiest World Cup Match Ever(Football Lovers)
The Battle of Nuremberg: The Dirtiest World Cup Match Ever
“I consider the referee was not at the same level as the participants, the players. I think there could have been a yellow card for the referee.
"This was a game of emotion, with exceptional drama in the last instant, with a deserved winner. But it was a great show with intervention by the referee that was not consistent and had a lack of fair play by some players.” - FIFA President Sepp Blatter
The words of the former head of football governing body after a match that was full of violence and unfair play.
Portugal and the Netherlands put up a display in the round of 16 of the 2006 FIFA World cup that'll will go down as the most most violent and dirtiest ever.
A game which produced 16 yellow cards and 4 red cards.
The match was so intense between both countries that the referee just kept issuing the cards at any possible offence.
Build Up To The Battle
Both nations had met two years earlier in the semi-final of the Euro 2004 and the match ending 2-1 in favour of Portugal with no atom of animosity between both teams.
Sixteen players who had played in the semifinal encounter two years earlier were still a part of the battle. Five from the Dutch and eleven from the Portuguese.
Portugal qualified for the knockout stages with ease picking up maximum points from a relatively essy group.
They beat Angola 1-0 in their opening fixture, saw off Iran 2-0, and defeated Mexico 2-1 to top Group D.
The Netherlands had to settle for second place behind Argentina in Group C based on goal difference.
Serbia & Montenegro bowed 1-0 to the Dutch, and Ivory Coast couldn't match their pedigree in a tight 2-1 victory.
In the final group match both power houses in Argentina and the Netherlands shared the spoils in a goalless encounter.
The Battle
The match was played at the Frankenstadion, in Nuremberg.
Referee Valentin Ivanov of Russia was the man in the middle of the pitch calling the shots.
The game begun and just after two minutes the first yellow card was issued to Mark Van Bommel for a rash tackle.
Five minutes later Cristiano Ronaldo was out of the game after a sinister tackle from Dutch defender Khalid Boulahrouz, and a second yellow was issued.
Only goal scorer Maniche was the next culprit shortly before his goal. The then Chelsea midfielder was given a yellow for a tackle of Van Bommel.
Portugal's defensive midfielder Costinha had plans of his own that day.
He plunged into a reckless sliding tackle on Cocu to receive his first booking. 14 minutes later the first red card was issued to him for handling the ball at the half way line.
Halftime and 6 cards had been issued already, and it was just a snippet of what was to come. The game was already building up acrimony.
Five minutes into the second 45 Petit got another yellow for Portugal for a tackle on Van Bommel.
Mark Van Bommel looked to be the orchestrator of all the foul play as a melee with Luis Figo saw the Portuguese headbutt him.
Luckily for Figo the referee didn't see the clash, but Van Bommel's teammate Giovanni van Bronckhorst reacted to the headbutt and both he and Figo got a warning card.
Boulahrouz then got his marching orders 3 minutes after a foul on Luis Figo which caused a touchline melee, a second yellow card and he was gone.
Each team were now short of one player. One would have thought that the game would return to normal, but the blood was drawn already.
Deco too grew into the heat of the game and had his own yellow share for a nasty foul on John Heitinga.
A minute later another brwal erupted.
The Netherlands had not given the ball back after Portugal had cleared it into touch to allow Heitinga receive medical treatment, thus breaking one of football's unwritten rules.
In the ensuing brawl, Wesley Sneijder pushed Petit to the ground and was also cautioned. The Netherlands' Rafael van der Vaart received a yellow card also, apparently for dissent.
Portuguese goalie Ricardo took one for his team for time wasting, and after letting go off the ball, it somehow found its way to Robin Van Persie, only for left back Nuno Valente to give the flying dutch man a kick of life.
To cap off a frankly ridiculous five minutes – which he himself started – Deco found an even more stupid way to get himself sent off than Costinha.
He received his second caution and was dismissed in the 78th minute for delaying the restart after a free-kick was awarded.
Cocu escaped a caution for wrestling Deco to the ground in his attempt to retrieve the ball.
To seal off the game in style Van Bronckhorst fouled Tiago and got his second yellow and sending off in additional minute of the game.
16 yellow cards and 2 reds in just one game!
A scene was shown on television footage during the match in which Boulahrouz, Deco, and Van Bronckhorst were sitting together on the sidelines after being sent off.
Deco and Van Bronckhorst were having a discussion, as both were teammates at FC Barcelona.
The Commentator of the match referred to the scene as the "Bad boys' corner".
Conclusion
The battle of Nuremberg still holds the record as the dirtiest World cup match in history.
The Referee was blamed by then FIFA president Sepp Blatter for not handling the game well, but would you blame him? The players dis not adhere to the rules of the game.
Portugal progressed to the quarterfinal and defeated England on penalties, but couldn't go through France in the semi's as they bowed out from a lone Zidane goal.
Question: Who is to be blamed ? The players or referee
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