It may be the greatest and most celebrated football tournament on the planet but that does not make the World Cup immune from controversial and often poor decisions by the officials. A game in the second round raised questions and reminds us of some memorable matches throughout the history of the World Cup. Russian referee Valentin Ivanov was given a resounding vote of no confidence by players, coaches and even FIFA President Sepp Blatter after he lost control of Portugal's 1-0 win over The Netherlands on Sunday. Ivanov produced his yellow card 16 times and his red card four times as both teams were reduced to nine men in their second round clash -- a record for any World Cup. This increased the number of red cards for the tournament to a record 23 just midway through the second round and five days before the quarter-finals begin tomorrow. Portugal, who had two players sent off, five cautioned and also lost winger Cristiano Ronaldo through an injury inflicted by a high tackle, meet England in Gelsenkirchen on Saturday. "I consider that today the referee was not at the same level as the participants, the players. There could have been a yellow card for the referee," Blatter told Portugal's SIC television channel. "This was a game of emotion, with exceptional drama in the last instant, with a deserved winner," her added. "It was a great show with intervention by the referee that was not consistent and (had) lack of fair play by some players." Ivanov, a 45-year-old music-loving teacher, attempted to establish his control from the start when he cautioned two Dutchmen in the opening seven minutes. But instead of gaining command of the game, he sent the contest into a spiral of chaos as Portugal took a 23rd minute lead, thanks to a well- taken goal by Maniche, and defended it with every trick in the professionals' book. In the end, Ivanov sent off Costinha and Deco of Portugal, each for two yellow cards, and Khalid Boulahrouz and Giovanni van Bronckhorst of The Netherlands, both also for two cautions. He also handed out yellows to Portugal's Maniche, Petit, Luis Figo, Ricardo and Nuno Valente and The Netherlands' Mark van Bommel, Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart. "I must say it was a pity that there was no football in the second half," said Dutch coach Marco van Basten. "The referee made a mess of it and Portugal used all their experience, all their tricks and time-wasting. We just couldn't play. It was chaos and it should not happen this way at a World Cup." Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said he was happy to win and added that such rough games were a part of his South American experience. "Sometimes it is like war," he said. "It is like that in the Copa America and I am used to that." He defended captain Luis Figo, who was cautioned for butting Mark van Bommel in a scrap to grab the ball when the Dutch were refusing to hand it back. Van Bommel said: "They were not any smarter than us, but the referee let them get away with it. "If Figo butts you, and he only gets a yellow card, and then minutes later he 'delivers' Boulahrouz's second yellow when, already, he should have been in the dressing room... Well, they are crucial mistakes that shouldn't be made at a World Cup." But Scolari said Figo only did what a committed player should do when goaded by his opponents, adding "Jesus Christ said he would turn the other cheek but Figo is not Jesus Christ. I thought he was more correct than the Dutchmen." Scolari refused to accept that his side tricked their way to victory and Van Basten, when asked about his own team's physical style and their role in the chaos, said: "If they are talking about fair play, they should look at themselves first." A look at memorable World Cup refereeing decisions in history England v Argentina, 1986 One of the most infamous incidents in World Cup history. England were just about holding their own in the quarter-final in Mexico City when Diego Maradona's aerial challenge on Peter Shilton saw the Argentina legend palm the ball past the goalkeeper and into the net. Despite furious protests from the English defence the Hand of God goal stood. England v West Germany, 1966 Probably the most controversial World Cup goal of all time. With the match level at 2-2 Geoff Hurst hammered a shot against the underside of the crossbar which bounced down, seemingly over the line, and out. England celebrated and, after consultation with Azerbaijani linesman Tofik Bakhramov, the referee awarded the goal. Subsequent scientific tests have suggested the ball probably did not cross the line but the debate still rumbles on today. Republic of Ireland v Norway, 1994 Much had been made of the effect the hot conditions would have on players in the USA and Republic boss Jack Charlton was keen to ensure his players did not get dehydrated. However, midfielder Ray Houghton was shown a yellow card for running along on the pitch holding a container of water. He had come to the touchline to take on fluid but then someone played the ball to him so he had no choice but to play on. West Germany v France, 1982 Goalkeeper Harald Schumacher ensured his World Cup infamy with one of the crudest challenges ever seen on a pitch. With the semi-final level at 1-1 France defender Patrick Battiston was put clean through but Schumacher charged out of his goal and threw himself into the path of the Frenchman. Battiston, with a broken jaw, left the pitch on a stretcher but not even a free-kick was awarded against Schumacher and he went on to be the hero in the resulting penalty shoot- out. Brazil v Sweden, 1978 Welsh referee Clive Thomas caused uproar when he blew the whistle for full-time between a corner being taken and Brazil's Zico scoring directly from it with a header, meaning the match ended 1-1. South Korea v Italy, 2002 All the attention was on Ecuadorian referee Byron Moreno after the match amid claims he was affected by the vociferous home support. After awarding a debatable fourth-minute penalty to Korea -- which was saved -- he then sent off Francesco Totti after showing him a second yellow card for diving despite the Italy playmaker appearing to have been tripped. Damiano Tomassi had a golden goal winner ruled out and the hosts snatched victory late on. Moreno was later removed from the FIFA list of match officials. South Korea v Spain, 2002 Once again the co-hosts benefited from a large slice of luck after two Spain goals were disallowed and the Koreans went on to win their quarter-final on penalties. Just after half-time Kim Tae-young appeared to knock the ball into his own net from a Spanish free-kick only for the effort to be ruled out because of an 'offside' Fernando Morientes. Then in the second minute of extra-time Morientes had a header cancelled out when the assistant referee wrongly ruled the ball had crossed the line before Joaquin put in the cross. Germany v Croatia, 1998 Germany defender Christian Worns' World Cup ended in heartbreak when he was harshly sent off for a foul on Davor Suker which the Croatian forward more than made a meal of by flying into the air. Despite heartfelt pleas to the linesman Worns had to walk and Germany lost 3-0. France v Croatia, 1998 Croatia were involved in controversy again, this time Slaven Bilic's shameful play-acting getting France captain Laurent Blanc sent off -- meaning the defender missed the World Cup final. The then Everton defender fell to the ground clutching his face in the 74th minute of France's 2-1 win, after Blanc had pushed him on the chin. Argentina v France, 1930 France lost 1-0 to their South American opponents but the match in Uruguay has a controversial finish. The referee somehow managed to blow the final whistle six minutes early. After some fierce protests from the French he recalled the players -- some of whom were already in the bath -- to the field to complete the match.
