FIFA clear Kewell
20 Jun 2006 - 10:42:39
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- FIFA clear Kewell
Australia striker Harry Kewell will be allowed to play against Croatia on Thursday after being cleared by FIFA following his verbal tirade against referee Markus Merk.
The Liverpool star confronted Merk after the Socceroos' 2-0 defeat against Brazil on Sunday.
He was seen waving his finger at the German referee after the final whistle but on punishment will be handed out by FIFA.
A Football Federation Australia (FFA) spokesman was reported as saying the reasons given by FIFA not to proceed with any action against Kewell were in part due to "inconsistent reporting by the match officials about the incident".
Kewell had said after the incident: "I think I was just overheated at the moment, it was just one of those things.
"It is the first time I have ever done something like that."
FFA chief executive John O'Neill said: "The bigger the occasion, the more the risk that the emotions can just take over."
Australia nned only to draw against Croatia in Stuttgart to reach the last 16, provided Japan do not beat Brazil by a wide margin in their last game.