French winger Franck Ribery has been hit with a three-match ban for showing an assistant referee over the weekend after Fiorentina lost to Lazio.
The player who was shown a red card due to his troubles was also fined 20,000 euros for what was described as “seriously disrespectful conduct” towards the match official by the Serie A officials.
It was thought Ribery could be facing a lengthy suspension following the incident, but a disciplinary committee felt his actions were not violent and he now faces the statutory ban for a red card offense.
Frustrated Ribery
Fiorentina was beaten 2-1 at home by Ciro Immobile’s last-minute goal in the Serie A clash and Ribery who had already been substituted let his frustrations known to the officials after Lazio scored at a moment they felt one of their players had been fouled.
Ribery who joined Fiorentina last summer was seen on camera in a heated exchange with the assistant referee, who was forcefully shoved twice as he protested.
Ribery earlier apologized for his actions, posting on Twitter: “I apologies to my teammates, the coach, the fans. I apologize to (assistant referee) Mr. Passieri.
“I was very upset and sad after the end of the match. I hope he can understand my state of mind.”
BREAKING NEWS: #Fiorentina winger Franck Ribery is given a three-match ban for his push on an official. More to follow... pic.twitter.com/Pk3IizybWU
— footballitalia (@footballitalia) October 28, 2019
