Three month ban for Granada's Dani Benitez

Madrid, May 10 (IANS) Granada winger Dani Benitez has been handed a three-month ban by the Spanish FA for his part in the scenes which marred the end of his side's defeat at home to Real Madrid.

Benitez was found guilty of throwing a plastic bottle which hit referee Clos Gomez as the Granada players reacted angrily to a 1-2 defeat which leaves them in danger of relegation to the Spanish second division.

Clos Gomez had given Real Madrid a penalty with 10 minutes remaining after a clear foul on Cristiano Ronaldo in the Granada penalty area, while an own goal in injury time saw Granada slip to defeat.

Benitez has since apologized in public for his actions and that perhaps saved him from a harsher punishment. He will miss this weekend's vital game away to Rayo Vallecano and his ban will then restart in the new season in August, meaning he will not play again until November.

Meanwhile other Granada players have also been hit with bans. Moises Hurtado and Guillerme Siqueira, who were shown red cards in the chaos at the end of the game, have both been handed four match bans, while the club's matchday delegate David Navarro has also been suspended for two games.

Granada must avoid defeat away to Rayo in the last game of the season Sunday otherwise they are in danger of being relegated, although Granada could still lose and stay in the Primera Liga if Villarreal and Zaragoza lose their respective matches against Atletico Madrid and Getafe.