Footballer Banned For 48 GAMES After Breaking Rival's Nose

Amateur footballer Raschid Arsanukaev has been issued a 48-match ban after intentionally breaking the nose of an opponent.

According to Bild, the player took exception to referee Romano Giovani after being sent off in the 87th minute for an attempted headbutt. Arsanukaev is reported to have told Giovani 'I'll show you what is punishable' before headbutting an opposition player and breaking their nose.

The former was then immediately released by his club Viktoria, who play in Austria's ninth tier. The incident is now under police investigation and has left the opponent requiring an operation and out of action for at least seven weeks.

The Voralberg Football Association were also quick to comment on the incident and claim they have taken several steps to ensure Arsanukaev cannot play again.

"We have informed the surrounding associations about the suspension of Arsanukaev," their manager director Horst Elsner claimed. "(We) want to prevent that he as a newly registered player can bypass the suspension and kick again somewhere."

The length of Arsanukaev's ban rivals those that have been issued to some of the biggest stars to ever play the game.

These players include Patrice Evra, who was forced to sit out for 7 months after kicking a supporter in the head while warming up for a Europa League match in 2017, and the late, great Diego Maradona, who missed 15 months of action after failing a drug test at the 1994 World Cup.

But the Russian is fortunate that he didn't face the same suspension that a trio of Sheffield Wednesday players did in the early 1960s. Following an in-depth review into match fixing in 1964, Peter Swan, Tony Kay and David Layne were all found guilty of betting against The Owls and were initially sentenced to lifetime bans from the sport.

So if you don't want to end up like those three Raschid, you better be on your best behaviour in 48 matches' time.