Referee Yuichi Nishimura (C) of Japan gestures for a penalty during the 2014 World Cup opening match between Brazil and Croatia at the Corinthians arena in Sao Paulo June 12, 2014. REUTERS/Murad Sezer
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - The head of refereeing at FIFA on Friday defended a contentious penalty decision during the opening game of the 2014 World Cup between host nation Brazil and Croatia.
At Thursday's match at Corinthians arena in Sao Paulo, Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura ruled that Croatia's Dejan Lovren had fouled Fred when the Brazilian fell to the floor with 20 minutes remaining and the score at 1-1.
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