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dent, 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 added: "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."

The fine is less than half a day's wages for the Barcelona superstar, whose contract with Barcelona is worth six million dollars.

Teammate Roberto Carlos defended Rivaldo, saying he himself has used similar tactics many times.

"Many people think Rivaldo's attitude was incorrect. In my opinion, it wasn't. I myself have simulated many fouls and penalties that the referee called," he said. "It's moves like that that can make you world champion. You have to be intelligent. Brazilians have always managed to get other players ejected using their intelligence."