Rome, April 5 (IANS) Judge Gianpaolo Tosel on Tuesday issued a four-match ban against Napoli’s Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain for his altercation with a referee during last weekend’s 3-1 defeat against Udinese in round 31 of the Serie A football league.
After he was shown the red card, Higuain started screaming and became physical with the referee, reports Efe.
Higuain was banned for one match due to the red card, while he will miss three extra matches for putting hands on the referee.
This is a harsh punishment for the Argentine, but it could have reached a 10-match ban if referee Massimiliano Irrati had described what happened as a violent conduct.
Higuain, top goal scorer of the Serie A with 30 goals overall, will miss Napoli’s upcoming games against Verona, Inter Milan, Bologna and Roma.
Currently, Napoli hold second place on Serie A table with 67 points, six points behind leaders Juventus.
