The Battle of Nuremberg (, ; also known as the Massacre of Nuremberg) is the nickname of a football match played in the round of 16 of the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

between Portugal and the Netherlands at the

Frankenstadion Max-Morlock-Stadion () is a stadium in Nuremberg, Germany, which was opened in 1928. It is located next to Zeppelinfeld. It also neighbors the Nuremberg Arena. Since 1966, it has been home stadium to the German Bundesliga club 1. FC Nürnberg ...

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

on 25 June 2006.

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...

n referee Valentin Ivanov issued a FIFA World Cup record four red cards and 16

yellow cards Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conc ...

, setting a new record for cards shown at any FIFA-administered international tournament.

Background

Portugal and the Netherlands had met at the semi-final stage of the previous major tournament, UEFA Euro 2004 held in Portugal, which had finished 2–1 to the host nation, but had not featured the same level of animosity between the players. A total of five Dutch and eleven Portuguese players who took some part in that fixture were also on the field in Nuremberg.

The match

First half

Mark van Bommel was booked in the second minute, and also before the goal Dutch defender

Khalid Boulahrouz Khalid Boulahrouz (born 28 December 1981) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a defender. His nickname is "The Cannibal" for his ability to "eat up" the opposition. He was noted for his tackling and versatility at the back. ...

was booked for a foul, which injured

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pl ...

and would eventually force the substitution of Portugal's star winger before half time. Ronaldo left in tears, and proceeded to describe Boulahrouz's tackle as "clearly an intentional foul to get me injured." In the meantime, Maniche had been booked for a foul on Van Bommel after 19 minutes. Shortly after the goal, Portugal's defensive midfielder

Costinha Francisco José Rodrigues da Costa (born 1 December 1974), known as Costinha (), is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, currently a manager. Best known for his tackling and positioning, as well a ...

slid into Dutch veteran

Philip Cocu Phillip John-William Cocu (born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player, he is the manager of Vitesse. Cocu was born in Eindhoven but raised in Zevenaar, playing youth football for local clubs DCS and De Graa ...

, receiving a yellow card. He was then the first to be sent off just before half time after being shown a second yellow card for a handball.

Second half

After Petit had been cautioned in the 50th minute,

Giovanni van Bronckhorst Giovanni Christiaan van Bronckhorst (born 5 February 1975) is a Dutch football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Scottish Premiership club Rangers. Formerly a midfielder, he moved to left-back later in his career ...

and

Luís Figo Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo (; born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger for Sporting CP, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan. He won 127 caps for the Portugal national team, a one-tim ...

both received yellow cards, with Figo's coming as a result of a touchline melee with Mark Van Bommel during which Figo headbutted him. Portugal manager

Luiz Felipe Scolari Luiz Felipe Scolari (; born 9 November 1948), also known as Felipão ("Big Phil"), is a Brazilian football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Athletico Paranaense. Scolari was a defender during his playing days, and not ...

controversially gave his approval to this headbutt by stating after the match, "Jesus Christ may be able to turn the other cheek but Luís Figo isn't Jesus Christ." Boulahrouz was sent off in the 63rd minute with a second caution after fouling Figo, which sparked a melee on the

touch-line The touch-line is the line on either side of the playing area of a game of rugby league, rugby union and association football. In many other sports it is called a side-line. The continuation of the touch-line beyond the goal line ending at the ...

, involving Boulahrouz (who confronted Simão),

André Ooijer André Antonius Maria Ooijer (born 11 July 1974) is a former Dutch footballer who played as a defender. He played his last professional game for Ajax against Vitesse on 6 May 2012. In an international career lasting over a decade with the Ne ...

and the Portuguese bench, necessitating the intervention of the fourth official Marco Rodríguez. Portugal's playmaker Deco roughly fouled Dutch defender

John Heitinga John Gijsbert Alan "Johnny" Heitinga (born 15 November 1983) is a Dutch football coach and a former player who played as a centre back. He manages Jong Ajax, the reserves team of AFC Ajax. A product of the Ajax Youth Academy, he played for their ...

and was booked; the Netherlands had not given the ball back after Portugal had cleared it into touch to allow a player to receive medical treatment, thus breaking one of football's gentlemen's agreements. In the ensuing brawl, Wesley Sneijder pushed Petit to the ground and was also cautioned. The Netherlands'

Rafael van der Vaart Rafael Ferdinand van der Vaart (born 11 February 1983) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, and is currently the assistant manager of Danish 2nd Division club Esbjerg fB. Van der Vaart began his ca ...

received a yellow card, apparently for dissent. After that, Portugal's goalkeeper

Ricardo Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname. People Given name * Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portu ...

(presumably for time wasting) and left-back

Nuno Valente Nuno Jorge Pereira da Silva Valente (; born 12 September 1974) is a former Portuguese professional footballer who played as a left-back or a winger. He later became a manager. He played professionally in Portugal and England for Sporting, ...

(for a rough foul) were punished. Deco received his second caution and was dismissed in the 78th minute for delaying the restart after a free-kick was awarded. Cocu escaped a caution for wrestling Deco to the ground in his attempt to retrieve the ball. In the 88th minute, Simão drew the ire of the Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, after the Portuguese player's leg made contact with Dutchman's in his attempt to score a goal, but the referee decided against taking any disciplinary action. In injury time, Van Bronckhorst was sent off for a second yellow card for a foul on Tiago. A scene was shown on television footage during the match in which Boulahrouz, Deco, and Van Bronckhorst were sitting together on the sidelines after being sent off, the latter two having a discussion, both being teammates at Spanish club Barcelona. Commentator Gary Bloom referred to the scene as the "Bad boys' corner".

Aftermath

In the aftermath of the match, referee Ivanov was criticised by FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who suggested that Ivanov should have given himself a yellow card for his poor performance during the match. Blatter later regretted these words and promised to apologise officially. FIFA announced that Ivanov would referee no further matches in the tournament. Ivanov's father Valentin Ivanov defended his son, saying it had been FIFA's demand for referees to be tough on the players. When Portugal faced England in the subsequent quarter-final, they were without the suspended Deco and Costinha. Portugal managed to reach the semi-finals. However, they had two players suspended for that match due to accumulated yellow cards, including the ones against the Netherlands. The record for yellow cards in a World Cup game would be surpassed in 2022, when

Antonio Mateu Lahoz Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz (; born 12 March 1977) is a Spanish association football referee who has refereed La Liga matches since 2008. He is also an international referee with experience at the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, 2018 FIFA Wo ...

issued a total of 18 yellow cards during the quarter-final match between the Netherlands and Argentina.

Match details

References

;General * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Nuremberg 2006 FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup matches

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Brawls in team sports Portugal at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Port Netherlands–Portugal relations Sports competitions in Nuremberg June 2006 sports events in Europe Nicknamed sporting events FIFA World Cup controversies