Friday Jun 23 2006 11:55
Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi will play no further part in the World Cup unless the Azzurri reach the final.
The 22-year-old has been suspended for four matches following his sending off for elbowing Brian McBride during Italy's 1-1 draw with the USA on June 17.
De Rossi's ban includes the Azzurri's 2-0 win against Czech Republic on Thursday, which set up a last 16 meeting with Australia.
The Roma star, who claimed the incident was an accident, has been widely criticised in the Italian media for his actions.
However, De Rossi retains the support of his team-mates and Marco Materazzi dedicated his man of the match award from the Czech Republic game to him.
"He made a mistake and he knows it but we are all close to him," said Materazzi.
"He is a good guy, he's only 22 years old and he has received a lot of criticism.
"I know what that feels like, I have also suffered injustices and after all, we are only human, he is only human."
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