Hertha's Kobiashvili gets record 7-month ban

Hertha Berlin's Georgian defender Levan Kobiashvili was on Monday given a seven-and-a-half-month suspension for striking a referee, the longest suspension in the history of German football. The 34-year-old, who has made 336 Bundesliga appearances, assaulted referee Wolfgang Stark during Hertha's 2-2 draw with Fortuna Duesseldorf in a relegation play-off match on May 15, which condemned Hertha to a 4-3 aggregate defeat. "I will accept this judgement in order to continue to be able to play football," he said. "My family and I have suffered a lot recently. I'm therefore happy that the procedure is over." The disciplinary committee of the German Football Federation (DFB) had called for a year-long ban but the organisation's sports tribunal instead decided to suspend him until December 31, 2012 -- seven and a half months after the offence occurred. The referee, who received a blow to the back of the head and sustained bruising to his neck, had filed a complaint against Kobiashvili. The heated game between Hertha and Fortuna Duesseldorf was suspended for around 20 minutes by Stark after Fortuna fans stormed onto the pitch seconds before the final whistle had been due to sound. Flares had been thrown onto the pitch after Fortuna's second goal, while the referee showed nine yellow cards during the encounter.