Marko Arnautovic has been handed a one-match ban for insulting a North Macedonia player during their hot-tempered clash at the weekend.
The North Macedonian football federation said on Monday it had submitted a request to UEFA to punish Arnautovic for a nationalist outburst after he scored during the match.
UEFA have now given him a one-game ban, which will see him ruled out of the game against the Netherlands on Wednesday.
Arnautovic denied using racist language during the match in Bucharest, but apologised for his goal celebration in a post on Instagram.
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What is Marko Arnautovic's problem?
What happened?
Arnautovic scored Austria's third goal in Sunday's game and celebrated. There were claims on social media he used an anti-Albanian slur towards Egzon Bejtulai, who is of that background.
He was then pictured having a heated exchange with Leeds player Ezgjan Alioski after the goal.
Alioski is also of Albanian heritage, while Arnautovic has a Serbian background. There is a historic tension between Serbia and Albania, while the same can be said of Serbia and North Macedonia.
How did Arnautovic react after the game?
He took to Instagram after the match and denied he had made a racist comment. Arnautovic said: “There were some heated words yesterday in the emotions of the game for which I would like to APOLOGIZE — especially to my friends from North Macedonia and Albania.
“I would like to say one thing very clearly: I AM NOT A RACIST!
“I have friends in almost every country and I stand for diversity. Everyone who knows me is aware of that.”
(Photo: JUSTIN SETTERFIELD/AFP via Getty Images)
