This is how I like football refereed.
It is not up to the referee to "preserve the spectacle" of the match. That is the players' responsibility. The referee is there to enforce the Laws of the Game and wield the sword, and Valentin Ivanov did that brilliantly. Every yellow was richly deserved, and an argument could even be made that Luis Figo should have been expelled as well.
By the end of it, the better team still won, and Maniche's winner was well worthy of a World Cup knockout match.
Portugal vs Netherlands, 2006 FIFA World Cup. 🇵🇹🇳🇱
The infamous "Battle of Nuremberg."
A fiery Round of 16 clash that saw 16 yellow cards and 4 red cards, making it the most ill-tempered match in World Cup history.