Saturday 14 June 2014 13:27, UK
Fred has defended himself against criticism and insisted the referee was right to award Brazil a penalty against Croatia.
The Brazil striker has been accused of going to ground too easily to get his side a spot-kick following minimal contact in the box from Croatia defender Dejan Lovren.
Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura has also been blamed for a poor decision by the Croatia manager and players, but Fred insists he did nothing wrong.
I controlled the ball with my right foot and I was turning left when I was bumped into the shoulder, I couldn't reach the ball, lost balance and fell. I am not the kind of player that falls down.
He told CBF TV: “It was a clear penalty. There isn’t more or less a penalty.
“FIFA told the Referees' Committee to guide the players, so that there would be no shirt-tugging in the penalty area as the referees would award penalties."
Fred added: "I controlled the ball with my right foot and I was turning left when I was bumped into the shoulder, I couldn't reach the ball, lost balance and fell.
“I am not the kind of player that falls down. The same thing happened in the (friendly) game against Serbia, and even on the ground I reached the ball to score a goal.
"I heard many people saying it wasn't a penalty, but I was bumped into and that was enough to prevent me from reaching the ball and scoring.”
Fred insists that any negative reaction to Brazil’s 3-1 win will cause no disruption to the squad, who are looking to follow up their opening-night success with a second straight win against Mexico on Tuesday.
“Nothing will take our focus away, everyone is well prepared,” he said.
“Nothing will take away the shine of our win, which was well deserved and very tough."
