Tim Cahill has apologised for his actions which led to his red card in Melbourne City’s derby loss to Melbourne Victory on Saturday night.
Cahill was shown a red card as he prepared to come on as a late substitute for comments he made to officials in the wake of Victory’s controversial winning goal.
On Monday, the 37-year-old was found guilty by the Match Review Panel of “using offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures against a match official”, copping a one-game ban.
And a contrite Cahill took to social media to express his remorse over the incident.
“I want to address what happened in the derby on Saturday night,” he wrote on his Instagram account.
“I sincerely apologise to Chris Beath for my reaction.
“My behaviour also hurt the game so I also apologise to my team, to Melbourne Victory and to all the fans at the game and watching at home.
“Regardless of whatever happens on the pitch, I have to respect the game and the officials.
“I want the game to grow in Australia and I want to do all I can to help that happen. No matter the situation, I have to set an example and be accountable for my words and actions.
“My job now is to focus totally on football and winning as many games as possible.”
Cahill will miss Saturday night’s clash with Brisbane Roar for a City side which is depleted by suspensions.
Skipper Bruno Fornaroli, Luke Brattan, Osama Malik and Fernando Brandan will all serve one-game bans for receiving their fifth yellow cards of the campaign.
