By Timothy Collings

NUREMBERG, June 25 (Reuters) - Russian referee Valentin Ivanov was given a resounding vote of no confidence by players, coaches and even FIFA president Sepp Blatter after he lost control of Portugal's 1-0 win over Netherlands on Sunday.

Ivanov produced his yellow card 16 times and his red card four times as both teams were reduced to nine men in their second round clash -- a record for any World Cup.

This increased the number of red cards for the tournament to a record 23 just midway through the second round and five days before the quarter-finals begin on Friday.

Portugal, who had two players sent off, five cautioned and also lost winger Cristiano Ronaldo through an injury inflicted by a high tackle, meet England in Gelsenkirchen on Saturday.

"I consider that today the referee was not at the same level as the participants, the players. There could have been a yellow card for the referee," Blatter told Portugal's SIC television channel.

"This was a game of emotion, with exceptional drama in the last instant, with a deserved winner," her adde.d "It was a great show with intervention by the referee that was not consistent and (had) lack of fair play by some players."

MATCH CONTROL

Ivanov, a 45-year-old music-loving teacher, attempted to establish his control from the start when he cautioned two Dutchmen in the opening seven minutes.

But instead of gaining command of the game, he sent the contest into a spiral of chaos as Portugal took a 23rd minute lead, thanks to a well-taken goal by Maniche, and defended it with every trick in the professionals' book.

In the end, Ivanov sent off Costinha and Deco of Portugal, each for two yellow cards, and Khalid Boulahrouz and Giovanni van Bronckhorst of the Netherlands, both also for two cautions.

He also handed out yellows to Portugal's Maniche, Petit, Luis Figo, Ricardo and Nuno Valente and the Netherlands' Mark van Bommel, Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart.

"I must say it was a pity that there was no football in the second half," said Dutch coach Marco van Basten.

"The referee made a mess of it and Portugal used all their experience, all their tricks and time-wasting. We just couldn't play. It was chaos and it should not happen this way at a World Cup."

LIKE WAR

Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said he was happy to win and added that such rough games were a part of his South American experience.

"Sometimes it is like war," he said. "It is like that in the Copa America and I am used to that."

Scolari said he was not worried avoutt losing players to suspension because he has a strong squad.

He defended captain Luis Figo, who was cautioned for butting Mark van Bommel in a scrap to grab the ball when the Dutch were refusing to hand it back.

Van Bommel said: "They were not any smarter than us, but the referee let them get away with it.

"If Figo butts you, and he only gets a yellow card, and then minutes later he 'delivers' Boulahrouz's second yellow when, already, he should have been in the dressing room... Well, they are crucial mistakes that shouldn't be made at a World Cup."

But Scolari said Figo only did what a committed player should do when goaded by his opponents, adding "Jesus Christ said he would turn the other cheek but Figo is not Jesus Christ. I thought he was more correct than the Dutchmen".

Scolari refused to accept that his side tricked their way to victory and Van Basten, when asked about his own team's physical style and their role in the chaos, said: "If they are talking about fair play, they should look at themselves first."

By Timothy Collings

NUREMBERG, June 25 (Reuters) - Portugal booked their place in the World Cup quarter-finals with a bruising and bad-tempered 1-0 win over Netherlands at the Frankenstadion on Sunday.

In a dramatic and explosive game marked by a flurry of yellow cards and four reds, a record for a match at any World Cup finals, Portugal clung on to the advantage they earned when Maniche fired them ahead after only 23 minutes.

Despite the dismissals of Portuguese midfielders Costinho and Deco plus Dutch defenders Khalid Boulahrouz and Giovanni van Bronckhorst by Russian referee Valentin Ivanov, it was a contest of high-drama and much attacking play.

Portugal's reward for hanging on to their lead is a meeting with England in the last eight in Gelsenkirchen on Saturday when they will be without Costinha and Deco who are now suspended.

"All I can think about today is this heroic, marvellous victory," said Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. "I'm happy."

Captain Figo added: "Our team was good tactically against a difficult side. When we ended up with 10 we were forced to make sacrifices, lots of work, run double. This team is fantastic."

CARDS BRANDISHED

Eight players were booked in addition to the four sent off in a match that almost descended into farce at the end with the players becoming increasingly frustrated as the referee repeatedly stopped the action to brandish yellow and red cards.

"It is a pity the referee made a mess of this game," said Netherlands coach Marco van Basten. "I think in the second half we only played 20 or 25 minutes of football.

The Dutch enjoyed most of the early possession but in a tight, technical contest they also picked up two quick cautions.

The first went to Mark van Bommel for fouling Cristiano Ronaldo after two minutes and the second, after seven, to Boulahrouz for a high challenge that cut Ronaldo's right thigh.

The Netherlands right back was lucky not to be sent off but the damage he did resulted in Ronaldo, after being treated twice, limping out of the game in the 34th minute.

By then, Maniche had been cautioned for a challenge on Van Bommel and struck the opening goal, a sweetly-taken right-foot finish from 12 metres. The goal was made by Pauleta.

Receiving a low cross from Deco, on the right, the striker delicately held up the ball before laying it off to Maniche who side-stepped a challenge from Andre Ooijer and then planted a right-foot shot inside Edwin van der Saar's left post.

SENT OFF

Within nine minutes Costinha picked up his first yellow card for a foul on Phillip Cocu.

He was lucky to escape another, for a foul on Ooijer as the game reached boiling point, before he was sent off in first half stoppage time for handball in midfield for his second yellow.

A minute earlier, Portugal had almost taken a two-goal lead when Pauleta's shot on the turn was saved with his legs by Van der Sar, making a record 113th appearance for the Netherlands.

The Dutch raised the tempo after the break when Cocu thumped a shot against the bar and twice Van Bommel hit thunderous drives -- one bounced wide and the other flew just over.

Boulahrouz was dismissed after 63 minutes for raising his elbow on Figo, minutes after the winger was himself booked for butting Van Bommel as all hell threatened to break loose.

It almost did in a welter of scraps and more wild tackling as both sides dived into tackles in the closing stages when Deco was sent off for his second yellow after time-wasting.

The game was almost over when Van Bronckhorst got a second booking for a foul in the fifth minute of stoppage time. His sending off brought the total number of red cards at these finals to 23, already more than the record of 22 set in 1998.