World Cup referee Yuichi Nishimura has shrugged off the controversy that surrounded his decision to award Brazil a penalty in the tournament's opening game, but admitted that being a referee is no easy task.
Nishimura made global headlines for all the wrong reasons following his performance in Brazil's June 12 opener against Croatia in Sao Paulo, where he gave the hosts a second-half penalty with the score at 1-1 after ruling that Croatian defender Dejan Lovren had pulled down Brazilian striker Fred in the box.
Neymar duly converted from the spot as Brazil went on to claim a 3-1 win, leaving Nishimura to face the fury of the beaten Croatians and millions of irate fans worldwide.
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