Melbourne City’s Dean Bouzanis banned five games for racial slur

Melbourne City goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis was last night suspended for five games.

Melbourne City goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis has been suspended for five games for his racial taunt against Besart Berisha.

Melbourne City goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis was last night suspended for five games for racially abusing Melbourne Victory star Besart Berisha in last week’s Melbourne derby.

In a hearing lasting less than an hour, Football Federation Australia’s independent Disciplinary and Ethics committee handed down the minimum sanction for the offence — a mandatory five-week ban — after Bouzanis failed to have the charge downgraded.

A contrite Bouzanis revealed that he had met Berisha on Tuesday to personally apologise after he called the Albanian international a “f. king gypsy” in the latter stages of the match, won by Victory 2-1.

The two had clashed earlier in the night after the goalkeeper had saved a Berisha penalty and the situation bubbled over when Victory scored a contentious goal in the dying minutes to claim the three points.

The situation boiled over when referee Chris Beath overruled his linesman, who had flagged the goal offside.

Following the controversy, City went into damage control, issuing a statement the following day in which Bouzanis accepted responsibility for his actions while pleading he was ignorant of the fact that his comment aimed at Berisha was inappropriate.

Bouzanis was subsequently cited by the match review panel who referred the matter straight to last night’s hearing, which was held in the FFA offices.

The 26-year-old admitted he was at fault and said he would do all he could to ensure it didn’t happen again.

In pleading his case as to the length of the sanction, Bouzanis said he would undergo an educational course and that he planned to do some community work as part of the program.

Bouzanis could have faced a far stronger sanction but the hearing took into account the club’s swift action and the fact he was quick to accept blame.

Committee chairman John Marshall SC warned Bouzanis that while his unblemished record and commitment to undergo an awareness course had helped his case this time, he could not expect such leniency in the future.

“You should think yourself fortunate to have got the minimum in the circumstances, and you can never count on that happening ever again,” Marshall said.

Bouzanis accepted the sanction, meaning he will sit out until round 24.

Former Danish international Thomas Sorensen, who has been waiting in the wings since Bouzanis took his spot earlier in the season, will be a ready-made replacement.

Bouzanis, who attended the hearing with Melbourne City CEO Scott Munn, football director Michael Petrillo and legal counsel Anthony Lo Surdo, said he was happy he could put forward his case.

“I’m grateful to have been able to present my case and I’d like to apologise to Berisha and the football community,” he said. “You’ll see from my actions that this will never happen again.”

The incident was part of a night of mayhem at the derby which also saw City striker Tim Cahill sent off. Cahill was on the sideline ready to come on as a substitute on the dying minutes when he was red-carded for abusing Beath.

He allegedly told the referee “you are a disgrace” after Beath awarded the goal. The striker used his Twitter account the next day to apologise for his actions.

Additional reporting: AAP