The Netherlands striker Ruud van Nistelrooy was unhappy with the performance of Swedish referee Anders Frisk after his team lost 2-1 to hosts Portugal in their Euro 2004 semi-final on Wednesday.

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"It's unbelievable how the referee ruled everything in favour of Portugal. He was a real home whistler," said the frustrated Van Nistelrooy.

"Every 50-50 situation was for them but we cannot do anything about it."

Van Nistelrooy said Portugal deserved to be ahead at halftime through a Cristiano Ronaldo header after 26 minutes.

"The 1-0 was deserved because we hardly showed our strength in attack. It was hard to get chances. It was hard to get into the game... I'm shattered.

Maniche put the hosts 2-0 in front just before the hour mark with a brilliant curling drive into the top corner but Portugal defender Jorge Andrade scored an own goal five minutes later.

"We fought back to 2-1 but it didn't work out the way we wanted," said Van Nistelrooy. "They had the better chances. It's tough losing like this but we had problems playing our own game.

"In the second half we played for all or nothing.

Asked whether Portugal had outclassed the Dutch, Van Nistelrooy said: "It's hard to say. We gave everything and our supporters here and at home were great... It's a bitter pill."

"I'm really down but maybe we have to say that Portugal just played better in this match. All of us gave everything for the fans over here and at home. (Reaching) the semi-final is a good achievement but we came to reach the final."