THE FIRST KNOCKOUT GAME WE hosted on ITV was Holland versus Portugal on Sunday night in Nuremberg, the farcical match in which both teams ended up with nine players on the pitch and a World Cup record number of cards was dished out. It was a balmy night and a barmy night. The atmosphere was charged, there was something in the air — and it wasn’t just the plastic food smells from the fast-food kiosks (which are beginning to resemble Holland & Barrett compared with our post-match meals).
No, it was the beginning of the end in the air that night. Neither team wanted to leave the tournament, so, like children playing up for a new babysitter, they gave Valentin Ivanov, the referee, a night