Shanghai coach Villas-Boas handed eight-match ban

Bengaluru, October 2: Former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas, who is currently in charge of Shanghai SIPG, has been handed an eight-match ban by the Chinese Football Association.

The Portuguese coach was handed the suspension and ordered to pay a fine of 40,000 yuan ($6,012) following his sending off during SIPG's 1-0 win over Beijing Guoan on September 22.

The ban marks the second time Villas-Boas has fallen foul of the authorities in China since joining SIPG at the start of the season.

It may be recalled that he was suspended for two games in June for comments made on social media in support of Oscar after the Brazilian SIPG midfielder was handed an eight-game ban for instigating a brawl.

The Chinese Super League (CSL) season has four games remaining and ends in November.

"When the match reached the 78th minute the official from Shanghai SIPG club, Andre Villas-Boas, insulted the referee with gestures which have a negative influence," the CFA said in a statement.

Big-spending SIPG are currently second in the CSL, four points behind Guangzhou Evergrande, who they eliminated from the semifinals of the Chinese FA Cup at the weekend to maintain their hopes of a treble.

In addition to chasing domestic honours, SIPG are in the semifinals of the Asian Champions League and face a second leg encounter against Urawa Red Diamonds in Japan on October 18 after the teams shared a 1-1 draw in Shanghai last week.

Villas-Boas escaped a ban from the Asian Football Confederation over "offensive" remarks made in a news conference following their quarter-final win over Guangzhou, with the regional body handing the 39-year-old a $14,000 fine.

Andre Villas-Boas has accused rival club Guangzhou Evergrande of engineering car accidents.

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— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) September 13, 2017

(With inputs from Agencies).