The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) disciplinary committee has slapped a three-month ban on Terengganu striker Paulo Rangel thereby ruling him out for the rest of the Malaysia Super League (MSL) season.
The 30-year-old was banned for abusing match officials during the ill-tempered Malaysia FA Cup second leg semifinal on May 16 against eventual winners LionsXII at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Terengganu.
Brazilian Rangel, who was last season's MSL topscorer while donning Selangor colours, was sent off after he had pushed referee Mohd Amirul Izwan Yaacob and kicked the ball at his assistant.
The officials had ruled offside when Terengganu's Ahmad Nordin Alias had the ball in the LionsXII net in the 89th minute.
The Turtles were leading 3-2 at the stage and there were no subsequent goals in the game. Rangel's side had lost the first leg 2-1 at the Jalan Besar Stadium which enabled the Singapore side to advance to the final on away goals after a 4-4 aggregate scoreline over both legs.
Rangel's teammate, midfielder Gustavo Lopez, was also sent off for a second bookable offence during the incident.
On June 10, the FAM disciplinary committee had ordered Terengganu to play one match in an empty stadium as punishment for their fans' unruly behavior following the game.
Terengganu host Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) in the MSL on Saturday in an empty stadium.