Felipe Melo hit with three-game ban

The Brazilian - who three minutes earlier had clumsily given away the deciding penalty - planted a boot on his opponent's shoulder towards the end of Inter's 2-1 defeat at San Siro and was issued a straight red card for the offence.

Serie A have now deemed that the incident classifies as "deliberate violent conduct" and have issued a three-game suspension, meaning Melo will sit out the clashes with Empoli, Sassuolo and Atalanta in January.

Roma striker Edin Dzeko has been given a two-game ban, meanwhile, as a result of "repeatedly addressing the referee with abusive language" in the 2-0 win over Genoa on Sunday.

The Bosnia-Herzegovina forward will miss the trip to Chievo on January 6 and the home clash with AC Milan four days later.

Atalanta have also been slapped with a 15,000 fine after supporters were found guilty of "chants expressing discrimination relating to territorial origin" against Napoli.