Croatia's Vedran Corluka slams "ridiculous" penalty decision for Brazil

Croatia defender Vedran Corluka is the latest player to hit out at Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura for awarding a controversial penalty in Brazil's favour during Thursday's World Cup opening match.

The hosts went behind in the first half, but two goals from Neymar and a third from Oscar ensured a 3-1 victory for Brazil in Sao Paulo.

However, the penalty kick from Neymar sparked controversy when Dejan Lovren was penalised for bringing down Fred in the box, since replays have shown that little contact was made.

"It was the first game of the World Cup. Brazil played well, but they didn't deserve to win in this way," BBC Sport quotes Corluka as saying.

"It's ridiculous he was so keen to give the decision. It was difficult to accept it."

Croatia will take on Cameroon in their next Group A clash on Wednesday next week.