MILAN, Italy -- Catania midfielder Francesco Lodi has been banned for three matches for taking a swipe at an opponent at the weekend.
Lodi appeared to hit Riccardo Meggiorini in the head in the 13th minute of Catania's 0-0 draw with Torino in Serie A on Saturday. He was shown a straight red card.
Lodi later apologized on Twitter and asked to be excused by his teammates.
Also Monday, the Italian league handed out a two-match ban to Cagliari midfielder Andrea Cossu for insulting the referee during a 2-1 loss to Lazio on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Pavel Nedved -- the former Juventus player turned management member -- was banned from representing the club at federation meetings for the rest of the month after insulting the referee following Juve's 2-1 loss to Sampdoria on Sunday.
