Australia pleas for Cahill leniency

Jun 16, 2010 - 12:25 PM By TONY HARPER AP Sports Writer

JOHANNESBURG(AP) -- Australia asked FIFA for leniency over Tim Cahill's red card against Germany in a bid to have him back for its third group game against Serbia.

Cahill received an automatic one-match ban covering Saturday's game against Ghana, but FIFA can increase the penalty.

Football Federation Australia chief executive Ben Buckley said Wednesday the organization contacted FIFA claiming a one-match penalty is sufficient. The document the Aussies sent includes a statement from Bastian Schweinsteiger, the German player fouled by Cahill. Schweinsteiger approached Cahill in the mixed zone following the match and told Cahill the red card was undeserved.

Cahill was sent off by referee Marco Rodriguez in the 56th minute of the 4-0 loss Sunday.

"Quite rightly Tim's disappointed, but our submission to FIFA has gone in this morning," Buckley said. "We have done a very comprehensive review of it and we are confident the submission will get a fair and reasonable hearing."

Buckley said a decision was expected from FIFA on Thursday.

Coach Pim Verbeek does not expect FIFA to extend the ban.

"One game is more than enough because (the foul) is not that bad," Verbeek said. "The decision seemed very harsh to me. I have seen worse than that in this tournament so far which have only been yellow cards. A yellow card would have been more than enough."

Australia needs a win in its second match, against Ghana, to revive its chances of making the next stage. It plays Serbia in its third game.