That pre-quarterfinal of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, in which the teams of Portugal and Netherlands were face to face. Fans were expecting a great football match, but what happened on the field was something else.
Controversy in Football History: It is known as ‘Battle of Nuremberg’. This is considered to be the dirtiest match in the history of the Football World Cup. Football fans still remember well what happened in Nuremberg, Germany in 2006.
The occasion was the pre-quarterfinal match between Portugal and Netherlands. There was a clash between two big European teams, so everyone expected a beautiful game. But instead of ‘total football’, ‘total chaos’ was seen on the field. Russian referee Valentin Ivanov had to take out 16 yellow cards and 4 red cards from his pocket in this match. This was the first time in the history of the World Cup that so many red cards were shown in a single match.
Portugal’s Costinha and Deco received red cards. At the same time, from the Netherlands side, Khalid Boolaroos and Giovanni van Bronckhorst were shown the way out of the field. This tumultuous match was won by Portugal 1-0. The only goal for Portugal was scored by Manish (Nuno Ricardo de Oliveira).