There is doubt over the controversial penalty that allowed Brazil to pull ahead in the World Cup opening game against Croatia but "there was contact," dpa cited FIFA head of refereeing Massimo Busacca as saying on Friday in Rio de Janeiro. "In refereeing we have black and white, but the there is also grey," Busacca said. He showed a still photograph of Thursday's incident, in which Croatia defender Dejan Lovren appeared to be holding Brazil striker Fred. With the score 1-1, Neymar converted the penalty that Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura awarded the tournament hosts, who went on to win the game 3-1. "Referees concentrate on the gesture," Busacca stressed. "The referee had a very good position, and from his position he saw this gesture." Busacca refused to define Nishimura's decision as a mistake, but stressed that "there was contact." He said a formal analysis of the issue was still pending, but he refused to consider "punishment" for Nishimura. "We are talking about sports: there is no punishment," he stressed. Busacca noted that any decision would go beyond the incident that angered Croatia's players and coach. "The game is 90 minutes, it's not only one situation," he said. "We have to analyse the 90 minutes." He also ruled out the possibility that referees in Brazil 2014 might favour the host nation. During a game, he said, referees do not "have time" to think about where the match is being played. "You take a decision in less than one second, it's team A and team B," he said. "You don't think 'I'm in Brazil.' You don't have time!" Referee make their decisions on the pitch based purely "on what they have prepared," Busacca said. Beyond that, however, it is impossible to "eliminate mistakes," he admitted. -- SPA 18:36 LOCAL TIME 15:36 GMT تغريد
