Australia forward Harry Kewell was left wondering if he should have chopped his arm off to avoid the red card he was shown Saturday and said the referee had “killed” his World Cup. The Socceroos held on for a 1-1 draw against Ghana despite losing Kewell in the 24th minute for handling the ball on the line and stopping a certain goal for their Group D rivals. “Unless I detach my arm and put it somewhere else there is no way I can move my arm,” a frustrated Kewell told reporters. “I didn't deliberately try to handball it, I tried to use my chest, play by the rules, but the referee saw it another way and he's probably the only one who did. “The guy's killed my World Cup.” Kewell was the second Australian to be given his marching orders in South Africa after Tim Cahill's dismissal in their opening match against Germany. “I'm really devastated. Decisions like that, it's probably haunted us throughout the World Cup,” said Kewell, who missed the first match recovering from a long-term groin injury. “But that's football, you've got to take it on the chin.” His coach Pim Verbeek agreed Kewell should not have been sent off. “From what I have seen, and I have seen it several times on television, it was definitely not a red card,” he told a news conference. “It was a handball there is no doubt about that. It was a penalty, I don't complain about that. “If he wants to give a penalty I can say ‘OK' but a red card is definitely overdone.” Kewell bemoaned the lack of consistency in refereeing decisions, saying: “We've seen some decisions in this World Cup that haven't been red cards so why is this one different? That's how everyone gets confused.” FIFA says Kewell will only serve a one-match ban for being shown a red card for a hand ball against Ghana. FIFA's disciplinary committee announced the suspension Sunday, ruling Kewell out of Australia's final Group D match against Serbia at Nelspruit Wednesday. Australia must win to have a chance of reaching the round of 16 when Kewell would be eligible again. Kewell, who took his time making his way down the tunnel was not even able to wallow in his misery on his own. “I wasn't allowed to leave (the dressing room). A security guard sat with me for 65 minutes of the game,” he said. “I don't know what he was expecting me to do.” FIFA studying safety FIFA is examining stadium safety in Rustenburg after plastic bottles were thrown on the pitch during Australia's 1-1 draw with Ghana at the World Cup. FIFA spokesman Nicolas Maingot says it will take a closer look at the incident in the Royal Bafokeng Stadium Saturday. Maingot says the issue is safety, as “bottles simply must not be thrown.” Stewards cleared empty bottles from the field toward the end of the match. Australia hung on for a point after playing with 10 men from the 24th minute. Forward Harry Kewell was shown a red card after being adjudged to have deliberately used his arm to block a shot on the line. Ghana scored from the penalty kick to level the score.
