Croatia coach is angry with referee after loss

Furious Croatia coach Niko Kovac blamed "out of his depth" referee Yuichi Nishimura and warned the World Cup could turn into a circus after a contentious penalty decision effectively cost his team the opening game of the tournament against Brazil.Japanese ref Nishimura ruled that Croatia's Dejan Lovren had fouled Fred when the Brazilian fell to the floor with 20 minutes remaining and the score at 1-1. Neymar converted the penalty for his second goal of the game and they went on to win 3-1 in Thursday's Group A match.If that's a penalty, we don't need to play football any more. Let's play basketball instead.

"My lads have fought for two years to reach the World Cup. They worked hard, prepared, and then they were faced with such a penalty decision here. You can imagine walking into our dressing room -- what kind of mood my lads are in."

Kovac said he did not blame Fred for his theatrical fall.

"The referee was well-placed, he was not unsighted, he saw everything and he took that decision," he said. "I don't blame Fred at all."

Croatia's fans were also furious with the Japanese official.

"I'll never eat sushi again," said Goran, a Croatian fan who attended the game as he ate dinner afterward. "I guess the world was against us today."

Despite the setback, Kovac said he remained confident his team could progress from the group.

They play Cameroon in the hot and humid Amazon city of Manaus on June 18 and Mexico in Recife five days later.