PSG star Marco Verratti slapped with ban for accusing referee of ‘s****ing on’ players in stunning rant
MARCO VERRATTI has been handed a two-game suspension for a foul-mouthed rant at French referee Mikael Lesage.
The Paris Saint-Germain star slammed Lesage for 's****ing on' players after the French giants were humbled 3-1 by Nantes last month.
After an investigation by France's football governing body LFP, a disciplinary panel slapped Verratti with a two-game ban, one of which is suspended.
In an interview after the game on February 19 with French TV channel Canal+, the 29-year-old took aim at Lesage in a scathing attack.
He fumed: "It is not possible that we get 10 yellow cards. We can't talk to the referee, we can't do anything.
"He is the only referee in the world who can do something like that.
Verratti continued: "Sometimes the referees have to take responsibility, because there we got s**t on it with the referees."
His one-game ban comes into force from March 8, meaning he is available for the trip to Nice this Saturday.
Most read in Football
FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN NEW CUSTOMER DEALS
PSG also take on Real Madrid in the second-leg of their mammoth Champions league last-sixteen tie on March 9, but Verratti's ban only applies domestically.
The Italian international will be available for the crunch game at the Bernabeu, and instead miss the Ligue 1 game against Bordeaux on March 13.
Verratti has something of a history with referees.
He was seen remonstrating with Dutch official Bjorn Kuipers after his side's Champions League semi-final defeat to Manchester City back in May.
And Verratti made a startling claim about what Kuipers said to him during their exchange of words.
The 28-year-old alleged: "He (Kuipers) said 'f*** you' to me. I talk to referees a lot but I never say that or I get a 10-game ban."
His accusation was backed up by PSG team-mate and former Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera, who alleged Kuipers also said it to another of their players.
⚽ Read our Football News Live blog for breaking news, transfer gossip and must-read stories