FIFA, the governing body of World Football, turned down a request by the Portuguese Football Federation to waive Deco's second yellow card. The Barcelona midfielder will watch the crucial Portugal match against England from the bench.

Scolari alleges that Holland should have given the ball back to the Portuguese, but refused after Dutch coach Marco van Basten instructed them so.

"We made some disciplinary errors but we do not accept Deco's sending off. He got his first yellow card in a move in which Holland should have given the ball back but didn't, at the request of their coach," Scolari said.

FIFA turned down the request for reviewing Deco's booking, as they had for Luis Figo's yellow card to be upgraded to a red for a head-butt on a Dutch player, on the grounds that once a referee has sanctioned a player they can not reverse his decision.

"There was a phone call and they were clearly told (to) forget it," Markus Siegler, FIFA's Director of Communications, said in a press conference.

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