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Craig Hill15 month ban for slapping ref
February 26th 2008 04:30
Vukovic slaps the hand of ref Shield
Central Coast Mariners goalkeeper Danny Vukovic has been banned for 15 months - or effectively two-thirds of the next A-League season - for slapping referee Mark Shield in the dying minutes of the 2007-08 A-League grand final loss to Newcastle Jets on February 24, 2008.
Vukovic was found guilty of violent conduct after he appeared to slap Shield's hand in the final minute of the match when the Mariners were denied a last-gasp penalty. He was red-carded.
The 15-month ban of which six months of it suspended on a probationary basis and only activated if the player re-offends within a year of returning, means Vukovic will most likely miss nine months of A-League action. He is also most likely to miss the chance of representing Australia at the 2008 Beijing Olympics depending on whether the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) chooses to extend the ban to international matches.
Although the 15-month ban may sound harsh for a slap on the hand, the seriousness of the issue is that the player could have faced a potential life ban for the incident.
Vukovic has a week to appeal the decision but things are not looking too bright from him. At most, he will only be successful in reducing the ban by a month or two at best. The FFA will be weary of backing down from the 15-month ban for it may set a precedence for future incidents of a similar nature.
[Video Source: YouTube]
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