Philippe Mexes has been left out of AC Milan's squad to face Lazio in the Coppa Italia on Tuesday night amid suggestions he could be sacked by the Serie A club.
Mexes, 32, was given his marching orders for an altercation with Stefano Mauri in Milan's 3-1 Serie A defeat at the Stadio Olimpico this weekend.
He kept his hands on the Lazio captain's even after being shown a red card by the referee, and is likely to be given a lengthy ban when the disciplinary panel meets on Tuesday.
The Frenchman, who has since apologised, would still be eligible to face the Biancocelesti again in Tuesday night's cup tie, although he has not been included in Filippo Inzaghi's squad for a must-win game for the under-pressure Milan coach.
Mexes has already been fined by his club, who may try to use his latest aberration as grounds to rescind his contract.
The 32-year-old is Milan's top earner on a lucrative contract which expires in the summer.
His disciplinary record -- Mexes has seen 16 red cards and been banned for a total of 43 matches in his career -- could cost him his place in the Milan side for the rest of the season, and allow the Rossoneri to make some savings by terminating his contract five months early for misconduct.
That could be the last act general manager Adriano Galliani gets to perform, though, if the club's fans get their way.
The Curva Sud -- the club's most passionate fan group -- has called for Galliani to be dismissed and blamed him entirely for all of the club's current ills.
"There are reports that this is the last chance for Pippo Inzaghi, but the truth is he is just the latest coach to be given a poor squad made out to be the strongest in the world," read a statement on curvasudmilano.it.
"There is no doubt that the architect of this squad is the general manager [Galliani], he who, respectful of the fact he is forced to work with limited finances, still works with the total absence of a project, overpaying wages to players of dubious value or even throwing money away entirely on the likes of [Alessandro] Matri (who cost as much as [Carlos] Tevez cost Juventus), to name one example.
"We would also ask for an end to be brought to the declarations that a squad of incredibly poor quality be made out to be worthy of the real Milan, the one which in its history has reached the zenith of the world game.
"Just because the general manager is paying big wages doesn't mean the players are actually worth it; it just means they are being overpaid in view of their actual potential."
Milan face Lazio with the Coppa Italia becoming their biggest objective for the season, with victory earning a place in the Europa League. Down in 11th in Serie A, they are already five points behind the top six and European qualification via the league.