Suarez escapes further ban

Luis Suarez will only be banned for one match for his hand-ball against Ghana - meaning the striker will be eligible for the World Cup final if Uruguay beat Holland.

Suarez denied Ghana the prize of becoming the first African team to reach the last four of a World Cup when he handled on the goalline in the dying seconds.

FIFA's disciplinary committee met to consider the incident and could have banned the player for longer than one match, but decided against doing so.

He was sent off for the offence but Ghana's Asamoah Gyan missed the resulting penalty, the match ended 1-1 after extra-time and Uruguay won the shootout 4-2.

The Uruguay striker said his conscience was clear, however.

"It was worth being sent off in this way because at that moment there was no other choice. I'm very calm," Suarez said.

His coach Oscar Tabarez rejected assertions that the team had won by cheating.

"Yes, he stuck his hand out but is that cheating?" he asked.

"I think it was instinctive. He was thrown out (of the game), he can't play the next match. There are consequences," he added.

"When he handled, he didn't know Ghana would miss the penalty. Is Suarez to blame for Ghana missing the penalty in the shootout?"