Zenit boss Andre Villas-Boas receives 6-match suspension for hitting match official

Zenit are currently third in the Russian Premier League after 7 games

Former Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas has been suspended for 6 games by the Russian Football Union for striking a match official, as per ESPN. The Zenit boss was sent off from the touchline after the incident as he exchanged words with the same referee and appeared to swear at him before butting heads and then leaving.

The incident occurred on Saturday during Zenit’s 3-1 loss while playing at home against Krylya Sovetov Samara. The Russian Premier League is at a more advanced stage than many leagues across Europe having completed 7 games on average so far.

The most recent loss for last season’s champions was the second of the season. They have won 5 of the games bringing their points tally to 15 but they still trail CSKA Moscow who have a 100% record in the league so far. Even Lokomotiv Moscow are ahead of Villas-Boas’ team by the virtue of 2 points from their 2 draws apart from 5 wins.

Though, the incident was not caught on TV cameras, the former Tottenham manager was seen cussing the fourth official Ivan Saraev as Villas-Boas approached him and then appeared to butt heads before he left the field. The resulting ban will last till October 30 as the disciplinary committee explained its decision.

Andre Villas-Boas apologised for his actions

The head of the committee Artur Grigoryants said the Portuguese coach “left his technical area and hit the fourth official in the chest” in an incident that occurred off the screen. Even though Villas-Boas has not yet appeared in public to comment on the incident, Grigoryants added that by the Zenit coach’s own admission “he had a temporary loss of control, and said he didn't have the right to behave like that.”

He also apologised to the match officials after the game. However, the ban will see him miss among other fixtures, an important game against league leaders CSKA. Having made a poor start by their lofty standards, this will prove a major hitch for the defending champions to overcome.

There have also been rumours in the recent past that the former Porto boss wanted to leave the club but according to reports he was not allowed to leave by the club’s authorities. Villas-Boas has also appeared in the past to speak out against racism in the Russian League and protest against the poor quality of pitches that are available to the teams. While, Zenit’s loss to Krylya Sovetov Samara may have hurt them, the ban for their coach could make the situation much worse.