SYDNEY (AP) An Australian soccer player will miss two league games for shoving a 10-year-old ball boy late in his team's FFA Cup final loss last week.
Adelaide United defender Michael Marrone received a four-match ban, with two suspended, after appearing at Football Federation Australia's independent disciplinary committee on Tuesday.
He will be available to play Adelaide's A-League game against Newcastle on Dec. 16.
The FFA last week charged Marrone for ''engaging in serious unsporting conduct'' during Adelaide's 2-1 loss to Sydney FC. Marrone knocked over the ball boy while trying to get the ball to take a throw-in during extra time.
The ball boy and his father were later allowed to take part in the trophy presentation ceremony.
While there are no precedents in Australia for such charges, Chelsea midfielder Eden Hazard was banned for three games for violent conduct after kicking a ball boy in 2013.
