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With Australia leading 1-0 in the crucial match at Rustenburg, Kewell was adjudged to have handled the ball on the goal-line from a fierce Jonathan Mensah shot in the 24th minute of the match and was sent off. A penalty was awarded, which was converted by Asamoah Gyan.

The incident was the turning point for the Socceroos, who while they can still mathematically qualify for the round of 16, need to win against Serbia and hope the result in the other group match goes the right way.

Kewell felt he had no hope of getting his arm out of the way of the shot and that while it could have been a penalty, should not have resulted in a red card.

"It's a shame that it happened that way. But if you look at the situation, it's hit my arm, but it wasn't deliberate. It was only that I was trying to get my shoulder there. I think the ref made a decision that he can only answer," he said.

"Unless I actually detach my arm and put it somewhere else, there is no other way I can move my arm. I didn't deliberately go for the hand, I didn't try and handball it, I tried to use my chest. I was playing by the rules, but the ref saw it another way. He's probably the only one who did."

FIFA regulations may beg to differ with Kewell's reading of the situation, with the rules saying 'A player is sent off, however, if he prevents a goal or an obvious goalscoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball. This punishment arises not from the act of the player deliberately handling the ball but from the unacceptable and unfair intervention that prevented a goal being scored.'

It is the second time in two matches that an Australian has been sent off after Tim Cahill was given a straight red card for a tackle on Bastian Schweinsteiger in the 4-0 opening loss to Germany. Kewell was not quite as emotional as Cahill was in the aftermath of that match, but said his World Cup dream had been wrecked, with the No.10 set to miss that final group match against Serbia.

"Devastated. We got the early goal. I thought okay, they started to come back, but I thought they had the grip on it. We controlled it, I thought and then again a decision like that, they have haunted us throughout the world cup, but again, that's football you have to take it on the chin," he said.

"it's just unfortunate that the ref saw something that probably everyone thought ok, fair enough it was a handball, but was it red card? We've seen some decisions in this World Cup that haven't been red cards, why is this one different?

"That's why everyone gets confused, everyone gets frustrated with referees because one minute they're are saying this and one minute they are saying that.

"He's the referee at the end of the day. You can't tell him what to do. He's the judge jury and executioner.

"The guy has killed my World Cup."

  

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