Battle of Nuremberg (2006 FIFA World Cup)

"Battle of Nuremberg"

The Frankenstadion held the match.
Event	2006 FIFA World Cup
Portugal Netherlands 1 0
Date	25 June 2006
Venue	Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, Germany
Man of the Match	Maniche
Referee	Valentin Valentinovich Ivanov (Russia)
Attendance	41,000
Weather	Mostly cloudy 26 °C (79 °F)

The Battle of Nuremberg (Portuguese: Batalha de Nuremberg, Dutch: Slag van Neurenberg; also known as Massacre of Nuremberg) is the nickname of a football match played in the Last 16 of the 2006 FIFA World Cup between Portugal and the Netherlands at the Frankenstadion in Nuremberg on 25 June 2006.Russian referee Valentin Ivanov issued a FIFA World Cup record four red cards and 16 yellow cards, setting a new record for cards shown at any FIFA-administered international tournament.

The match ended 1–0 to Portugal, with Maniche scoring in the 23rd minute. Before the goal, Mark van Bommel had been booked and in the eighth minute, Dutch defender Khalid Boulahrouz was booked for a foul which injured Cristiano Ronaldo 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 slid into Dutch veteran Philip Cocu, 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. After Petit had been cautioned in the 50th minute, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Luís Figo both received yellow cards, with Figo's coming as a result of a headbutt. Portugal manager Luiz Felipe Scolari 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." Scolari also escaped punishment.