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Austria's Arnautovic suspended 1 match for insulting opponent

JUSTIN SETTERFIELD / AFP / Getty

UEFA handed Austria forward Marko Arnautovic a one-match suspension for his outburst against North Macedonia on Sunday.

The UEFA Appeals Body elected to ban the 32-year-old after finding him guilty of insulting a North Macedonian player during Austria's 3-1 victory at Euro 2020.

The decision comes a day after UEFA appointed an ethics and disciplinary inspector to investigate the incident.

The forward issued an apology postgame after being accused of going on a tirade about North Macedonian defender Ezgjan Alioski's Albanian heritage.

Arnautovic didn't go into detail about what was said during the outburst but insisted he was "not a racist."

The incident occurred after Arnautovic scored Austria's third goal. Instead of celebrating with teammates, he focused his attention on Alioski before Austria captain David Alaba grabbed Arnautovic by the face in an attempt to calm him down.

The North Macedonia football federation called on UEFA to issue a "very severe fine" after the game.

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