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VIENNA - Agence France-Presse

Germany striker Miroslav Klose yesterday received a fair play prize from the German Football Federation (DFB) after admitting a goal he had scored last month in the Italian league was a handball.

The 34-year-old, who has scored 65 times for Germany in 125 appearances, won the award after informing the referee a goal he had scored for Lazio against Napoli in Serie A at the end of September had hit his hand first.

After Klose’s confession, the referee cancelled the goal as Lazio went on to lose the match 3-0 at Napoli. He was praised by his opponents on the pitch and later by the Italian media for his honesty.

“The ref asked me if the ball had hit my hand,” said Klose. “I admitted it had and, for me, that was the obvious thing to do. There are so many young people who sit in front of the television, that we should set a good example.”

Klose also won a similar award in 2005 when playing for Werder Bremen in a Bundesliga match against Bielefeld. After Bremen was awarded a penalty, Klose told the referee that the Bielefeld goalkeeper had the ball first before the striker fell in the area.

The referee reversed his penalty decision and also canceled the yellow card shown to the keeper.