The Croatian press attacked World Cup opener referee, Japanese Yuichi Nishimura, describing the loss against Brazil as “injustice”.
Brazil won the opener Thursday 3-1 after Nishimura called a penalty for the hosts which made Croatian players and coach protest to its authenticity, reports Xinhua.
Daily Croatian Jutarnji main headline was “Shame”, while Vecernji headline was “Injustice”.
Newspapers in Croatia talked about how the referee helped Brazil to win the opener, yet pointed out that Croatia lost with dignity.
Others described Nishimura as Brazilian man of the match, accusing him of being biased against Croatia and calling an “unreal” penalty that allowed Neymar score the second goal.
Brazilian press also criticised the referee for his poor performance and for stripping Croatia of an equaliser against Brazil and an advantage point.