ISL 2018-19: NorthEast United's Rehenesh receives 3-game ban for punching ATK's Gerson

NorthEast United goalkeeper TP Rehenesh was handed a three-match ban by the All India Football Federation's (AIFF) disciplinary committee for punching ATK's Gerson Vieira during their Indian Super League (ISL 2018-19) game on October 4.

Rehenesh, whose ban started in NorthEast United's previous game against Chennaiyin FC, has been suspended for two more games, the ISL confirmed on Wednesday.

The incident happened in the fifth minute of the game between the two sides. Rehenesh, defending a corner, lands a fist on Gerson after the ball was cleared by NEUFC striker Bartholomew Ogbeche at the near post.

From a video of the incident, it appears that Rehenesh did not take it kindly to Gerson charging at him to get the header in.

The incident went unnoticed by referee Tejas Nagvenkar but the AIFF reviewed the footage of the match and punished Rehenesh for the offence.

"All India Football Federation Disciplinary Committee has announced a further two-match suspension for NorthEast United FC’s TP Rehenesh. The goalkeeper has also been fined Rs 2,00,000/- (INR Two Lakhs)," an ISL statement read.

"AIFF Disciplinary Committee found Rehenesh guilty of committing offence of ‘violent conduct’ under the Article 48.1 (v) and 48.6 (ii) of the AIFF DC Code.

"Rehenesh was suspended for NorthEast United FC’s away match against Chennaiyin FC on 18th October under the AIFF DC interim inquiry on the matter, and now will not be available for his club’s next two fixtures of Hero ISL 2018-19 against Jamshedpur FC (25th Oct) and against Delhi Dynamos FC (30th Oct)."

The ban comes as a huge blow for NorthEast United as second-choice keeper Pawan Kumar's performance under the bar was poor in the outing against Chennaiyin FC.

Although NEUFC won that game 4-3, Pawan was unable to stop Thoi Singh at the near post and let slip easy goals.

The AIFF issued a notice to the club and the player soon a day after they reviewed the footage. The offence attracts a ban ranging between two to four matches and a fine of at least Rs 1 lakh.