MILAN (AP) — Lazio defender Patric was banned for four games and fined 10,000 euros ($11,300) for biting an opponent.
The incident happened in stoppage time of Lazio’s 2-1 loss at relegation-threatened Lecce on Tuesday.
With Lazio’s title chances all but evaporating and players getting into an argument, the 27-year-old Patric suddenly dipped his head and bit Lecce defender Giulio Donati on the left arm.
The league’s disciplinary decision on Wednesday noted that the bite was caught by the VAR, and that it did not cause any injury to Donati.
Patric escaped the longer bans handed to Luis Suarez for bites in the last decade.
While playing for Liverpool, the forward was suspended for 10 matches by the English Football Association in 2013. The Uruguay international received a heavier punishment from FIFA for sinking his teeth into Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup, banned from all football for four months and nine international matches.
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