Bordeaux and France captain Alou Diarra was suspended for a minimum of three weeks by the French league on Thursday for shoving a referee in the chest.
Diarra was shown a yellow card by referee Wilfried Bien in the second half of last Saturday's 1-0 win at Auxerre, and reacted by pushing Bien with both hands.
Bien responded with a second yellow and the 29-year-old Diarra, who has captained France in three of coach Laurent Blanc's five games in charge, was sent off.
As he was walking off the field, Diarra then turned back, walked over to Bien and apologized profusely for his gesture.
The French league said it will decide on Nov. 10 whether to extend the suspension.
Diarra will miss three league games, a League Cup game and most likely the international friendly against England on Nov. 17 as he will not be match fit.
The decision will be a blow to Blanc, who had been counting on Diarra and Chelsea winger Florent Malouda to set an example to France's younger generation following the World Cup debacle.
Blanc had pleaded for the LFP to show leniency toward Diarra, saying his gesture was totally out of character.
Diarra, who has played 29 times for France, was part of the squad that went on strike during a training session at this year's World Cup after Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka was sent home for insulting former coach Raymond Domenech.
Diarra captained France in its final World Cup group game, a 2-1 defeat against host South Africa, and he has worn the armband in the last three European Championship qualifying wins against Bosnia-Herzegovina, Romania and Luxembourg.
