Kaka to be more careful

JOHANNESBURG (AP):

Even his 70-year-old grandmother had harsh words for the referee who gave him a red card in Brazil's match against Ivory Coast, said Kaka, who pledged to be more careful because of the "severe" refereeing at the World Cup.

The playmaker said his grandmother, Vera, was as upset as he was with being sent off late in Brazil's 3-1 victory at Soccer City Stadium on Sunday.

"I can't repeat here what she said about the referee," a laughing Kaka said yesterday. "She was happy with the way I played, but sad with the sending off. With all the respect that she has, she launched a bit of a tirade at the referee."

But Kaka is taking the incident as a lesson for the following matches, saying he will be more careful to avoid getting into a difficult position with the referee.

"It's an uncomfortable situation. From now on I will police myself on the field because we have seen that the refereeing has been very severe," Kaka said. "It's up to me to police myself a little more. In such an important moment, at a World Cup, you want to avoid certain (situations)."