Brazilian striker Fred has defended his actions that led to the controversial penalty in the World Cup opener against Croatia, saying he was clearly fouled, according to The Associated Press.
Speaking publicly for the first time after Brazil's 3-1 win over Croatia on Thursday in Sao Paulo, Fred came to the defense of Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura, the AP reported.
"It was a clear penalty," Fred said in a video released by the Brazilian football federation on Friday, according to the AP. "There is no such thing as more penalty or less penalty."
Replays showed there was minimal contact by the Croatian defender before Fred fell, but Nishimura made the call and Neymar converted the 71st-minute penalty to break a 1-1 deadlock and send Brazil on its way to victory, the AP reported.
The Croatians were furious with the decision and said it helped decide the match, according to the AP.
Coach Niko Kovac described it as "a robbery" and said the "the whole world saw the big mistake" by the referee. He said that "if that was a penalty, we should be playing basketball. Those kinds of fouls are penalized there," the AP reported.
Fred said he was brought down by defender Dejan Lovren while trying to make a turn toward goal from inside the area, according to the AP.
"I controlled the ball and was ready to turn when there was a charge on my shoulder," Fred said, the AP reported. "I couldn't reach the ball anymore, lost my balance and fell."
He added: "There was a charge on my left shoulder and that kept me from scoring the goal while I was inside the small area. It was a clear penalty. There were a lot of people saying it wasn't a penalty. But there was a charge and it was enough to pull me away from the ball and keep me from scoring."
