Brazil's new midfield star Ronaldinho got the news he wanted today when FIFA confirmed a one-match ban only for his red card against England meaning he could play in the World Cup final.
The red card he received for crunching his studs into England's Danny Mills shin in the 2-1 quarter-final win on Friday brought an automatic ban for the semi-final against Turkey in Saitama, Japan, on Wednesday.
But the 22-year-old Paris St Germain player had an agonising wait to see if the FIFA Disciplinary Committee would exercise its right to upgrade it to two matches which would have sidelined him for the final should Brazil go through.
But FIFA announced early in the day that the sanction would remain at just one match.
The 22-year-old Paris Saint Germain attacker turned the quarter-final against England on its head with two pieces of pure magic either side of half-time.
The first involved a Maradona-like slalom into the heart of the English defence to set up Rivaldo for the equaliser after Michael Owen had given England the lead.
The second saw him float an outrageous 35-yard free-kick from the touchline over the head of one of the world's finest goalkeepers, David Seaman, for the game winner.
Seven minutes later joy turned to disbelief as he was red-carded for going over the top of the ball on Mills, leaving the England player writhing in agony.
Many thought the foul had been accidental and deserved no more than a yellow card, and FIFA would have been acutely aware that Ronaldinho has emerged as one of the outstanding talents at these finals.
The free-kick winner led to some debate as to whether he actually meant to go for goal, England skipper David Beckham called it "a fluke", or whether he mishit the shot and benefitted from a combination of Seaman's poor positioning and a wicked waft of air.
Ronaldinho had no doubts.
"I was going for it," he said.
"Cafu (the Brazilian skipper) came up to me and said I should try for the goal because Seaman was standing off his line. I went for it and it came off," he added.
It was Ronaldinho's second goal of the tournament, but more importantly he has been instrumental in hoisting both main strikers Ronaldo and Rivaldo to the top of the scoring charts with five apiece and his influence will be sorely missed in the semis.
It is all a long way since his early days at Paris Saint Germain in the French first division last year when he struggled to make his mark after a prolonged transfer haggle with his Brazilian club Gremio.
Now, his coach in Paris, former French World Cup midfield powerhouse Luis Fernandez is full of praise.
"It's true that he took time to adapt with us, but he stuck to it and he played well in the second half of our championship programme.
"His goal against England was exceptional and he should never have been sent off.
"We are so enthusiastic about his performances in Asia and now fear that some big money clubs will come looking for him. But he has made it clear he wants to stay where he is."
AFP