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AC Milan defender Philippe Mexes has been banned for four matches for the red card he picked up in Saturday evening's 3-1 defeat against Lazio. Mexes, 32, was given his marching orders for violent conduct, "grasping an opposition player [Stefano Mauri] by the neck and dragging him to the ground, while repeating the same action after being sent off," according to a statement by the Lega Serie A's disciplinary committee. It was the 16th red card of the former Roma defender's career, taking his total number of games missed due to suspension to 47. The Frenchman, who has since apologised, will also miss Milan's rematch with Lazio in the Coppa Italia on Tuesday night after being omitted from the squad by coach Filippo Inzaghi. Mexes will miss the Rossoneri's upcoming games against Parma, Juventus, Empoli and Cesena. Meanwhile, Udinese midfielder Panagiotis Kone will miss his side's fixtures with Juventus, Napoli and Lazio after being punished for pushing the referee after he was shown a second yellow card in Monday night's 2-1 win over Empoli. The second yellow card carried an automatic one-game ban, but the Lega Serie A have inflicted two more due to the Greek's conduct after seeing red. Gonzalo Bergessio, who is on the verge of moving to Lazio from Sampdoria, will not face any punishment for an alleged elbow aimed at Palermo's Giancarlo Gonzalez in Sunday's 1-1 draw between the two clubs, on the other hand. His action was seen by the referee, who felt it was a "natural movement to free himself from his marker," meaning television evidence cannot be used to sanction the player.
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