De Rossi handed three-match Roma suspension for slap

Nov 13, 2012 2:00:00 PM

The midfielder faces a spell on the sidelines as he's been punished by the Lega Serie A for his red card in this weekend's 3-2 loss against the Giallorossi's city-rivals, Lazio

Roma coach Zdenek Zeman will have to cope without the services of Daniele De Rossi for a while as the Italy international has been handed a three-match ban following his straight red card against Lazio at the weekend.

De Rossi was dismissed by referee Gianluca Rocchi in the closing seconds of the first half after he slapped Stefano Mauri, and the Lega Serie A does not take the midfielder's action lightly.

The 29-year-old was already dropped from the Italy squad by national team coach Cesare Prandelli following his red card, and he will now have to watch Roma's next three league games from the stands, too.

His suspension means that De Rossi misses the Serie A matches versus Torino, Pescara and Siena.

Roma will also be without the likes of Nicolas Burdisso and Panagiotis Tachtsidis versus Torino as the duo was handed a one-match ban after they both received their fourth yellow card of the season against Lazio.