PARIS -- Bastia striker Brandao was banned for six months by the French league on Thursday for head-butting Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Thiago Motta after a league match last month.
Provisionally suspended since Aug. 22, Brandao was banned to Feb. 22 after a league disciplinary hearing.
The 34-year-old Brazilian waited in the dressing room corridor for 20 minutes after being substituted, and as the players came off he walked over to Motta and butted him in the face before running away.
Motta's nose was broken in the incident, and PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi called for Brandao to be banned for life.
Brandao, a burly striker who had spells with Saint-Etienne and Marseille before joining the Corsican club, was accompanied by his lawyer at the LFP hearing.
He won the French league and two League Cups with Marseille from 2009-12.