Hiddink lashes out at claims Australians play dirty

OEHRINGEN, Germany, June 11 (Reuters) Australia coach Guus Hiddink lashed out at suggestions by Japan Football Association president Saburo Kawabuchi that the Socceroos may play rough against the Asian champions tomorrow.

The Australians were already under the microscope for the World Cup Group F match in Kaiserslautern after Luke Wilkshire was sent off for a clumsy tackle on Giovanni van Bronckhorst in a 1-1 draw with Netherlands last week.

Kawabuchi added fuel to the fire when he told the Sports Hochi newspaper that Hiddink's side deliberately played rough.

''Australia commit a lot of dirty fouls,'' he was quoted as saying. ''They aim for the ankles a lot. They injured two or three Dutch players. It's way out of line.'' Hiddink has warned his players to be on their best behaviour after FIFA president Sepp Blatter ordered a crackdown on foul play but he refuted Kawabuchi's claims his team played outside the rules.

VERY FAIR ''That's ridiculous,'' he told a news conference today. ''It was a very fair game (against Netherlands).

''I'm getting very angry when people suggest that. We have a good team, we like to fight, but every team must fight in my opinion.

''If players cannot commit themselves in the game then we should not play any more.'' Hiddink, who has shielded his players from the media in the lead-up to the match against Japan, said the comments about his team's tactics were unfounded and intended to influence the referees into thinking the Australians played rough.

''The people who make those comments are trying to create an atmosphere which...I don't think is fair,'' the Dutchman said.

''I think it's an attitude that doesn't belong to a sportsman.

The people who make those comments have an irresponsible behaviour to our team and the sport.'' Captain Mark Viduka was also dismayed.

''I don't know what all the hype is about,'' he said. ''We, as Australians, and our team in particular, play fair every time we go out.

''We're very competitive people, we like to win and we'll never pull out of a tackle, but we never go out to hurt people.'' The other teams in Group F are Brazil and Croatia.

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