Melbourne Victory goalkeeper Glen Moss will have to sit out New Zealand's two-legged World Cup qualifier.

The 26-year old shot-stopper has been banned for four FIFA World Cup matches after abusing a referee in the All Whites' final qualifier against Fiji last November.

The ban means that Moss will be out for the two matches against Bahrain and then the first two World Cup group matches if New Zealand are successful in qualifying for South Africa 2010.

Moss lodged an appeal to FIFA but it was rejected by the sport's governing body.

"The red card was my fault and a silly thing to do," Moss said.

"I then wanted to lodge my own appeal but unfortunately FIFA does not allow players to undertake such actions on their own. They have to come through their respective associations."