Ganea banned for 22 matches for attacking linesman

BUCHAREST, Aug 31 (Reuters) Former Romania striker Ionel Ganea has been banned for 22 matches after attacking a linesman during a match between his team Politehnica Stiinta Timisoara and Rapid Bucharest.

''After three days of hearings we have decided to ban Ganea for 22 matches,'' Romanian football federation (FRF) disciplinary commissioner Marin Daniel Preda told reporters.

Preda said Ganea, 34, had also been fined 14,000 lei (5,882 dollars) because he had been sent off after receiving a second yellow card.

''The commission's members considered that Ganea might soon end his career so they did not give him the maximum punishment,'' Preda said.

Politehnica Stiinta Timisoara officials said the club and Ganea would appeal against the decision in the next five days.

Ganea scored 19 goals in 45 matches for Romania. Between 1999 and 2006 he played for Stuttgart, Bursaspor and Wolverhampton.

In 2004, a violent tackle on Scotland defender John Kennedy put the player out of action for three years.

REUTERS TB KP2143