Lulic banned for 20 days for 'offensive' Rudiger remarks

Senad Lulic has been given a 20-day ban by the Italian Football Federation following comments aimed at Roma defender Antonio Rudiger.

The centre-back stated after Lazio's 2-0 derby defeat on December 4 that Rudiger "was selling socks and belts in Stuttgart until two years ago and now thinks he's a phenomenon", prompting outcry from a number of football fans and media outlets.

The FIGC launched an investigation and has determined that Lulic's comments were "harmful and offensive" and announced on Thursday that it had issued a ban and a €10,000 fine.

However, after a plea bargain was reached with the player, the suspension will only apply to days and not matchdays, which means he will miss only one Serie A game - against Crotone on January 8 - as a result of the winter break.

Lulic has played every game this season for Lazio since sitting out the opening-day win over Atalanta on August 21.