Ghana's Serbian coach Milovan Rajevac is still fuming after Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez stopped a goal-bound shot with his hand on the line in the last minute of extra time in their World Cup quarterfinal.

"Some say that Suarez is a hero and now he's walking proudly," Rajevac told a Bulgarian sports daily yesterday, a week after the match at Soccer City. "Come to your senses, people. He's not a hero, he's a trivial cheat. What hand of God? It was the hand of the devil," he said.

• "Orange fever" swept the Dutch press yesterday on the eve of the Netherlands final against Spain. One psychologist told De Telegraaf that such was the positive feeling among the country's inhabitants as the Oranje marched to the final that it could do collective good. "Orange fever is effectively group therapy," Jaap van Ginneken told the newspaper. "It is good for everything, for as well as raising the morale of the consumers, it also cuts out the cost of a visit to a psychologist, psychiatrist or a psychotherapist."

• Refereeswere right 96% of the time at the World Cup, according to a study by Fifa's referees' committee. The study looked at key decisions such as free kicks, penalties and goal decisions but did not examine minor rulings such as throw-ins. The data was collected by video examination carried out by referees' committee members and Fifa instructors.

• The German team made a mistake by choosing not to present themselves to fans after the World Cup, football icon Franz Beckenbauer said in a column in yesterday's Bild daily. "I regret that the team isn't saying thank you to its fans in Germany. I consider the decision not to visit the Berlin fan zone to be wrong," he added.

• A Spanish national team shirt was attached to a balloon and launched 33km into the atmosphere to celebrate their first qualification for a World Cup final. A Spanish company honoured Wednesday's 1-0 semifinal victory over Germany at the 14th European balloon festival in Spain.

• Dutc football great Johan Cruyff says that of the two teams in the World Cup final, he "sees the most of me" in Spain and not the Netherlands. The former midfield star and architect of Dutch "total football" of the 1970s made the comment in a newspaper interview.

• Colombian pop star Shakira said yesterday she was pinning her hopes on Paul, the "psychic" Germany-based octopus who has prophesied a Spanish victory in today's final.

• English referee Howard Webb, 38, is used to the ups and downs of taking charge of high-profile games, but even the confident Yorkshireman seemed surprised with the media attention ahead of today's final. Webb and his two English assistants had a half-hour training session at Soccer City that drew TV cameras and reporters from all over the world. Webb will be the first referee to take charge of a Champions League final and a World Cup final in the same season.