2006 World Cup: Four red cards in the Battle of Nuremberg

With the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States due to get underway on June 11, we are taking a look back at one of the World Cup's unforgettable moments – the Battle of Nuremberg between Portugal and the Netherlands.

It was probably the most talked about event from the entire tournament, as the game was so dirty.

The fouls were hideous, the tension was off the charts, and at the end of the game, the referee had issued a total of 20 cards – a record for any single FIFA-sanctioned tournament game.

The 2006 World Cup as a whole was the dirtiest World Cup on record, with 345 yellow cards and 28 red cards given, and to this day, the record has not been beaten for either the individual match or the World Cup as a whole.

Portugal vs Netherlands: Battle of Nuremberg

The game was a round-of-16 match, as Portugal won Group D whereas the Netherlands finished as the runners-up in Group C.

It was played on June 25, 2006, and the location for the game was the Frankenstadion in Nuremberg in front of 41,000 spectators .

The unfortunate referee for this game was a Russian by the name of Valentin Ivanov, who would also become famous for handing out a total of 20 cards in this one game alone.

Valentin Ivanov gave first card after two minutes

The first yellow card was handed out in the second minute to Netherlands player Mark van Bommel. 

This initial yellow card was closely followed by another yellow card being given to a Dutch player in the seventh minute to Khalid Boulahrouz, and this yellow card was one of the most impactful in the game.

Cristiano Ronaldo injured from Khalid Boulahrouz challenge

Boulahrouz's challenge on Cristiano Ronaldo that prompted the yellow card would ultimately take Ronaldo out of the match. 

He had to be substituted after 33 minutes, and after the game, Ronaldo condemned Boulahrouz for the challenge by stating that he had no intention of getting the ball.

Ronaldo stated that the sole intention of this challenge was to get him injured, and if that was the intention, it worked.

This meant that Portugal would have to play without their star man against a formidable Dutch squad for a total of 67 minutes, although they still pulled out a 1-0 win.

Ronaldo actually left the pitch in tears too, which was tough to watch for Portuguese fans.

Record four red cards and 16 yellow cards given

Ivanov deemed it necessary to hand out 16 yellow cards in the space of 90 minutes for this match.

No other game in FIFA-sanctioned events has matched this record, which really does tell a story as to the viciousness of this game.

Portugal received nine yellow cards and the Netherlands received seven, and of the 16 that were given during this game, four of them were given as a second yellow card.

This means that four players were subsequently sent off in this match, but no player received a straight red card.

However, this by no means excuses the fact that both teams finished the game with nine men on the field. 

Costinha was the first player to be sent off during the game, receiving his second yellow card before the half-time whistle.

Not long into the second half, the man that took Ronaldo out of the game was given his second yellow, resulting in Boulahrouz heading off the field in the 63rd minute.

Things then calmed down for all of 15 minutes before Deco of Portugal got his second yellow in the 78th minute, picking up his two yellow cards in the space of five minutes. 

The final victim of the red cards was the Netherlands' Giovanni van Bronckhorst, but this came in the 95th minute, so it did not have an enormous impact on the match. 

Valentin Ivanov criticized by Sepp Blatter

Since the famous Battle of Nuremberg, the referee, Ivanov, has received plenty of criticism for his handling of the game.

Many claim that he was just far too quick to issue cards to the players involved in the incident.

However, Ivanov has since been defended by his father, claiming that FIFA had instructed all referees to be tough on foul play during the tournament.

However, despite these claims from his father, the FIFA president at the time, Sepp Blatter, stressed that Ivanov should have also given a yellow card to himself for such a poor refereeing performance.

A public apology from Blatter was issued after these comments, but Ivanov was relieved of his duties following the game and he would not referee another game in the 2006 World Cup tournament.