Unrepentant Rivaldo praises referee

An unrepentant Rivaldo, seen feigning injury by a global audience of billions, last night declared himself "glad" that Turkey's Hakan Unsal was sent off for his part in the incident late in Brazil's 2-1 victory in Ulsan on Monday. Meanwhile, the president of the Turkish football association fuelled the controversy by claiming that the South Korean referee had "killed 70 million Turks".

Rivaldo had fallen holding his face after the Blackburn defender kicked the ball into his thigh while he dallied over a corner, but he shrugged off global condemnation and the prospect of the contempt of his peers. "I was glad to see the red card," said the former world player of the year. "Creative players must be able to express themselves if football is to stay a beautiful game. It doesn't matter where the ball hit me. It was the intent that counted."

The Barcelona midfielder, who was voted man of the match, is likely to face a maximum fine of £1,000 by Fifa's disciplinary committee rather than suspension if it finds him guilty of "simulating" injury. The committee is due to study the incident today

Rivaldo, who is reputed to earn £5m a year, moved uneasily on to the moral high ground. "The World Cup would be a lot better with more referees like that," he argued. "There's too much foul play and violence in football today."

The match referee, Kim Young-Joo, bore the brunt of the Turkish FA's fury yesterday. Astonishingly, its president, Halak Ulusoy, invoked the Korean War of 1950-53, in which 460 Turks died. "I'm leaving the referee to the South Koreans," he said. "We sacrificed a thousand soldiers here to defend Korea – and now one Korean has killed 70 million Turks."

Halak, who had earlier condemned Rivaldo for crumpling to the floor "like someone having a brain haemorrhage", added: "I wish I was not forced to speak about a Korean like that. We love them as people, but that man can not be a referee. In Turkey he would not even be allowed to officiate in the Second Division."

All 735 players at the finals, Rivaldo included, were obliged to sign Fifa's Fair Play Declaration. In its Fair Play Charter, aimed at "preserving traditional sporting values", the world game's governing body set out its rationale: "The world's top teams and players have a responsibility as role models for young people taking up the game."

Keith Cooper, Fifa's director of communications, said yesterday: "I'm keen not to pre-empt any decision, but we came into this World Cup making it clear that there would be a clampdown on simulation, which is Fifa-speak for cheating. If the committee thinks there is sufficient cause they will take a second or third look at any incident and rule accordingly."

However, Cooper suggested that Turkey's appeal against Hakan Unsal's dismissal would be pointless. "The sending-off is not open to question," he said. "The issue is solely Rivaldo's reaction." He was the second Turk to be dismissed, following Aston Villa's Alpay Ozalan, against Brazil.