Danny Vukovic, the Central Coast Mariners goalkeeper, has been banned for 15 months after hitting Mark Shield, the referee, in the A-League grand final.

Vukovic was given the ban — six months of it suspended on a probationary basis — after he was found guilty by Football Federation Australia of violent conduct in the match, which his side lost 1-0 to the Newcastle Jets in the league's championship at Sydney.

Video of the match clearly showed Vukovic striking Shield's arm after the Mariners claimed the referee missed a blatant handball by Newcastle's James Holland.

As a result, Vukovic will not be eligible to play in next season's A-League competition until November 24.

The goalkeeper chances of representing Australia at this year's Beijing Olympics are also under threat with the FFA "considering the extension of the sanction beyond the A-League, including to national team duty."

Vukovic, who was a regular member of the Olympic team during last year's successful qualification campaign, has seven days in which to lodge an appeal.

The Central Coast Mariners also face possible sanctions for team misconduct and the governing body has requested an explanation of the incident.

Pim Verbeek, the Australia coach, said he was disappointed by Vukovic's actions. "I think that's one of the things players have to learn," Verbeek said. "It's stupid, there's no doubt about that. We can be honest about that. He should have never done that.

"Hopefully he will learn from it and hopefully every player can learn from it because you can not accept things like that as a professional football player."

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