Sacked defender Spahic gets three-month ban for brawl

BERLIN (Reuters) - Bayer Leverkusen defender Emir Spahic, sacked for hitting two stadium stewards earlier this month, has been banned for three months and fined 20,000 euros (14,310 pounds), the German Football Association (DFB) said on Thursday.

(Reuters)

The 34-year-old former Bosnia captain, a crowd favourite at Leverkusen, was dismissed by his club two weeks ago after he and a group of friends clashed with BayArena staff following a German Cup game on April 8.

Video footage showed Spahic punching and headbutting two stewards with one of them losing several teeth.

The player apologised for his behaviour and the DFB said Spahic had accepted their sanction which runs to July 12, meaning he can be back in action next season though he has yet to sign with any club.

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; editing by Justin Palmer)