Football: UEFA bans Turkish footballer till 2017

ISTANBUL (AA) - European football’s disciplinary body Tuesday slapped two Fenerbahce midfielders and a coach with penalties and fined the club €15,000.

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) banned Fenerbahce midfielder Volkan Sen from all UEFA matches until next January for making physical contact with the referee.

UEFA also suspended midfielder Alper Potuk for three matches and coach Vitor Pereira for one match for criticizing the referee.

Croatian football referee Ivan Bebek was criticized by Turkish fans for his rulings during a March 17 match where the Istanbul side got three red cards and a penalty.

In the match, Fenerbahce was eliminated from the Europa League after losing 4-1 to Portugal’s Braga.