Amateur footballer who punched referee Satyam Toki three times after being sent off in a west London match banned from football for ten years

The player who punched a referee in a grassroots football match has been banned for 10 years.

Amateur official Satyam Toki was left with excessive bleeding above his eye after he was hit three times by a player he sent off in a pre-season friendly last month in Acton, west London.

At a London FA hearing over the weekend, the referee's attacker was suspended from all football activity for 10 years - the maximum punishment that can be issued for assaulting a match official.

The player who punched a referee in a grassroots football match has been banned for 10 years

Satyam Toki was left with bleeding above his eye after he was hit three times by a player

However, Toki has now called for the FA to review their laws and introduce lifetime bans for players found guilty of such an offence.

He told Sportsmail: 'I am quite happy because at least the maximum sentence from the FA has been handed out. I was worried it was only going to be five years.

'But it could have been better. It could have been a lifetime ban. In my opinion, the FA should change their regulations to give lifetime bans.'

Toki has now called for the FA to introduce lifetime bans for players who commit these crimes

Toki is officiating his first match since he was attacked on Tuesday, having told Sportsmail he was scared to referee again following the incident on August 9.

The train conductor has also pressed charges against the player - who we are not naming but represented Hackney Sunday League side Sporting Club de Mundial - and is now waiting for the outcome of the criminal investigation.