Uefa has banned Didier Drogba for two European matches following his sending off in Chelsea’s Champions League loss to Inter Milan at Stamford Bridge.
The striker was shown a straight red card for a stamp on Thiago Motta in the 87th minute of the last 16, second-leg 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.
Uefa also extended Drogba’s period of probation by two years until July 2013.
He was warned about his future conduct after last season’s Champions League semi-final defeat by Barcelona.
The Ivory Coast international was reprimanded by European football’s governing body for “offensive comments” made towards Danish referee Tom Henning Ovrebo directly after the 1-1 draw, when the Catalan giants scored an injury-time equaliser which eliminated the Blues from the competition in May last year.
Although Drogba’s initial four-match ban was reduced to three on appeal two months later, a two-match suspended ban was still in place.
However, Uefa opted against imposing a further two-game suspension but instead extend his period of probation by a further 24 months.
“The suspension applies to the next two Uefa club competition matches for which Drogba would be eligible,” read a Uefa statement.
Drogba insisted his stamp on Brazilian midfielder Motta was accidental, but referee Wolfgang Stark thought otherwise.
“The referee was a bit hard on me for this red card,” Drogba said after the match.
“I stepped on his tendon, but it was not intentional and I was more focused on the cross and the ball. I’m going to try to make it better. All have been unhappy endings, so I hope next season the Champions League will be mine.”
The 32-year-old has three days to launch an appeal.
