Sport - Football

No regrets: Rivaldo

Ulsan (South Korea) June 5. Brazilian star Rivaldo expressed no regret on Wednesday for faking an injury that saw a Turkish player sent off, saying it was part of football and was here to stay.

FIFA's disciplinary committee has fined Rivaldo $7,350 for the first major case of what referees call `simulation' in the Group C match on Monday which Brazil won 2-1.

``I'm calm about the punishment,'' the Barcelona midfielder said ahead of a Brazilian training session at the Mipo Field in Ulsan. ``I don't want to talk much about it to avoid creating more headlines. This is something from the past. I'm now looking ahead. These things happen in football and if I spend time thinking about what happened it's not going to help anyone.''

Asked if he regretted the incident, he said: ``No, no, no. I don't regret anything. This (faking) is something that will never end in football. It is the kind of thing that is going to happen a lot in this World Cup.''

He said FIFA had made an example of him. ``I don't know if everyone would be punished as I was,'' he said. ``Probably they wanted to make an example of me to make sure it doesn't happen again.

``But we need to respect the fine and what they decided. However I am not the kind of player that is normally fined or suspended.''

Football's international governing body had promised a clampdown on cheating during the tournament.

FIFA spokesman Keith Cooper said in Seoul no further comment would be made on the case until a regular briefing on Thursday and would not even say what offence Rivaldo had been found guilty of.

But a top FIFA official said the case had been the subject of `tremendous pressure' from all sides involved.

Rivaldo admitted after the match that he had deliberatedly exaggerated an injury, holding his face after Turkish defender Hakan Unsal has kicked the ball at his legs, in a bid to get Unsal sent off.

— AFP

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