Daniele De Rossi Banned 3 Matches for Punching Mauro Icardi

Combative AS Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi will miss his club's next three games after being handed a retrospective ban for punching Inter Milan forward Mauro Icardi in the face during Saturday's game.

The Italian allowed his fiery temperament to get the better of him once again in an off-the-ball incident that was missed at the time by the officials.    

Referee Mauro Bergonzi did not include the incident in his match report, but the ban was confirmed by the Lega Serie A (h/t ITV.com) once video footage of the incident had been reviewed.     

After taking De Rossi's "deliberate" demeanour into account, the authorities have decided his actions amount to violent conduct, and his immediate omission will inevitably hurt Roma.

To have any chance of catching Juventus at the top of the table, the Giallorossi can ill afford to be without the 30-year-old's services for the upcoming fixtures against Udinese, Napoli and Chievo.

The "Old Lady" of Serie A is hurtling toward the title, having opened up a cavernous 11-point lead after the latest round of fixtures.

It's not the first time that De Rossi has fallen foul of the authorities of course. Back in November 2012, De Rossi was omitted from Cesare Prandelli's national team after striking Lazio captain Stefano Mauri.

In a case of history repeating itself, the player has been left out of the Italian squad to face Spain in the upcoming friendly in Madrid, according to Goal.com.

Clearly, he is still to learn his lesson. It's a blow for his team and also another knock on his checkered resume. He'll need to prove he can refrain from such behaviour in the future if he is to improve his reputation in light of this incident.