Dean Bouzanis cops five-game ban for calling Besart Berisha a ‘gypsy’

MELBOURNE City goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis has been handed a five-match A-League ban for calling Melbourne Victory striker Besart Berisha a “f***ing gypsy” during last weekend’s derby. After a short hearing in Sydney on Wednesday night, Football Federation Australia’s disciplinary and ethics committee decided Bouzanis deserved only the minimum sanction for his racist slur.

Melbourne City posted a statement on its website on Wednesday night saying the club and Bouzanis ‘acknowledge and fully accept’ the suspension.

The statement quoted Bouzanis as saying:

“I have accepted the sanction handed down this evening. I have apologised to Berisha and Melbourne Victory directly and I would also like to take this opportunity to extend my apology to the fans and the broader Australian football community. My future actions on and off the pitch will demonstrate I have learnt from this experience.”

1:05 AM