Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari defended his captain Luis Figo after the veteran midfielder butted Mark van Bommel in Sunday's bad-tempered 1-0 victory against Holland.

The win set up a quarter-final match for the Portuguese against England but they were involved in an incident-packed clash with the Dutch which ended with both team reduced to nine men.

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

Figo was booked when he became involved in a scrap to grab the ball when the Dutch were refusing to hand it back.

"Jesus Christ said he would turn the other cheek but Figo is not Jesus Christ," added Scolari. "I thought he was more correct than the Dutchmen.

"If they are talking about fair play, they should look at themselves first."

A frustrated van Bommel added: "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. They are crucial mistakes that shouldn't be made at a World Cup."