China bans Brazilian footballer for one year for clattering into ref
Brazilian forward Henrique Dourado was banned for 12 months and fined $30,000 on Friday after barging into the referee during a Chinese Super League football match.
The former Fluminense and Flamengo star was sent off in Henan Songshan Longmen's 2-2 draw on Sunday at Wuhan Yangtze River after appearing to deliberately run at speed into the back of the referee in the 16th minute.
The 32-year-old Dourado sent the official flying and was promptly dismissed. "First, Henrique Dourado... is suspended for 12 months," the Chinese Football Association said. "Second, we are imposing a fine of 200,000 yuan It is hoped that all parties can jointly safeguard the order of the competition and the hard-won environment for football development."
Chinese football is well known for dealing out harsh punishments to misbehaving players.
In 2017, the 60-million-euro Brazilian Oscar was banned for eight games after sparking an on-pitch brawl while playing for Shanghai SIPG.