Ref must be strong in semifinal, says Loew

The current Brazil team bears little resemblance to its artistic sides of the past and Germany coach Joachim Loew hopes Tuesday's semifinal referee takes a tough stance against any attempts to disrupt the flow of the game.

"I watched the Brazil-Colombia match and there were countless fouls by both teams, fouls where players just jumped into someone else's back to disrupt play," Loew told German television.

"These weren't players going after the ball in battles for possession. They were simply trying to prevent match play."