Japanese referee's blunder steals Brazil's thunder

Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura

Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura who is in the spotlight for 'inventing' Brazil's second goal against Croatia

Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura

. The Japanese referee in the eye of the storm, Yuichi Nishimura, has been an international referee since 2004, and has officiated in several tournaments including the 2010 World Cup.

. At the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, he was shoved by Angolan players during an ill-tempered quarter-final with Egypt but failed to send any of them off.

. In 2010, Congolese fans incandescent at his performance in a Club World Cup game took rather misguided revenge by vandalising a Chinese restaurant in their country.

. And although twice voted by the J-League as its referee of the year, he has long been controversial among Japanese fans, not least for his reputation for awarding dubious penalties.

A night of blunders
. Nishimura should arguably have shown Neymar a straight red card for elbowing Luka Modric in the face a minute before the Brazilian scored his first goal.

. The 42-year-old disallowed a Croatian goal in the 88th minute when the score was still 2-1 in Brazil's favour.