UEFA ban Mijailovic for five games

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LONDON, England -- UEFA have banned Wisla Krakow defender Nikola Mijailovic for five matches after he racially abused Blackburn Rovers striker Benni McCarthy, European football's governing body has said.

The incident involving the South Africa forward occurred in last week's UEFA Cup group stage game in Poland, which Blackburn won 2-1.

An investigation was launched after an official complaint from Blackburn and a report from the match referee.

"Benni was upset because a number of comments were made to him during the game," said Blackburn manager Mark Hughes after last Thursday's match.

"The comments were of a racist nature. It is unfortunate something like this will tend to overshadow a great performance."

UEFA said on Thursday that racism not only constituted a serious breach of the fair play principle but also presented a serious threat to sport and its ethical values.

The 24-year-old has until Monday to appeal.

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