Guangzhou Evergrande head coach Marcello Lippi will serve a provisional one-match suspension following his indiscretion during the team’s 0-1 defeat at the AFC Champions League quarterfinals first leg meeting against Western Sydney Wanderers in Sydney.

The former Italian national team manager has been provisionally suspended in accordance with Article 129 of the AFC Disciplinary Code after he entered the field of play to confront the match referee, Mohammed Abdulla Hassan (UAE),in the dying stages of the quarterfinals first leg match following the sending off of a second Guangzhou player.

The Chairman of the AFC Disciplinary Committee last night decided that Lippi had purportedly displayed unsporting behavior, an offence under Article 57 of the AFC Disciplinary Code, as well as indiscipline under Article 69 of the AFC Champions League Competition Regulations 2014.

Lippi will therefore not be allowed to sit in the continental champions’ dugout at the return leg to be played on 27 August in Guangzhou. The final decision of the AFC Disciplinary Committee will be issued following the completion of a full investigation. The Chinese Football Association has been notified of the decision.