Referee to give evidence about Pinto incident

FIFA have called the referee, who claims Portugal’s Joao Pinto punched him in the aftermath of being sent off against South Korea, to give evidence to their disciplinary committee on Wednesday.

Argentinian Angel Sanchez will be asked about the incident he alleges occurred during the defeat to the co-hosts, which ended Portuguese interest in the tournament.

FIFA has yet to confirm whether the same accusations, which he told to the Portuguese media, are part of the official reports submitted to the committee.

Keith Cooper, FIFA’s director of communications, added: ‘‘There will be a meeting the day after tomorrow when the disciplinary committee will have a little chat with Sanchez to ask about his version of events on the basis of his report.’’

Pinto was dismissed for dangerous play following a high tackle on Park Ji-Sung in the 27th minute.

After the red card was shown, the Portuguese forward needed to be restrained by his teammates to prevent the situation escalating.