Van Basten blames Portugal’s tricks and time wasting

HOLLAND manager Marco van Basten believes Portugal’s mastery of the dark arts of footballing deception was the reason behind Holland’s dramatic World Cup exit.

Both sides finished Sunday’s fiery second-round clash with nine players as referee Valentin Ivanov brandished a record-equalling 16 yellow cards and a record-breaking four reds as Luiz Felipe Scolari’s troops progressed to the quarter-finals.

But van Basten felt Portugal’s win owed as much to skullduggery as it did to Maniche’s 23rd-minute strike which ultimately settled the game.