UFUNGUZI WA KOMBE LA DUNIA::REFA ANAYECHEZESHA MECHI YA LEO KATI YA BRAZIL NA CROATIA NDIYE ALICHEZESHA MECHI YA BRAZIL MWAKA 2010 NA BRAZIL KUTOLEWA KWA GOLI 2-1

Whistle blower: Japan's referee Yuichi Nishimura will take charge of the first game of the World Cup

The man who ended Brazil’s hopes in South Africa four years ago will take to the field with the five-time World Cup winners again for their World Cup opener – referee Yuichi Nishimura.The Japanese whistle blower takes charge of the hosts’ Group A clash with Croatia in Sao Paolo, having sent off midfielder Felipe Melo in South Africa against Holland as Brazil crashed out.Melo’s 73rd minute horror stamp gave Nishimura no choice but to send him off with Brazil 2-1 down – effectively ending the Selecao’s chances of retaining their title.

Seeing red: He took charge of Brazil's exit at the last World Cup, sending off Felipe Melo in their 2-1 loss to Holland in the quarter-finals

And he almost red carded Andre Ooijer for a challenge on Kaka – accidentally pulling a red card from his pocket instead of yellow.

While the man in the middle took little blame for Melo’s dismissal, he was on the receiving end of some stick for allowing some rough Dutch challenges and could face more criticism if the likes of Neymar and Oscar fail to shine for the hosts.The 42-year-old official was announced as ‘Asian referee of the year’ in 2012, and is one of just five refs kept by FIFA from the last World Cup, including the Premier League’s Howard Webb.