LONDON, England -- UEFA has punished Benfica midfielder Augustin Binya with a six-match European ban following his horror tackle on Celtic's Scott Brown last week.

Augustin Binya, right, lunges towards Celtic midfielder Scott Brown during Benfica's 1-0 defeat in Glasgow.

The Cameroon international was sent off for the challenge in his side's 1-0 defeat in the Champions League match in Glasgow last Wednesday.

Scotland international Brown avoided injury, but claimed Binya had tried to break his leg with the tackle in the 85th minute -- and demanded that Europe's governing body take further action.

Binya, 24, apologized for the challenge -- described by officiating referee Martin Hansson of Sweden as one of the worst he had ever seen -- on the day after the match.

But UEFA's control and disciplinary body announced their sanction on Friday morning, having deliberated on the case on Thursday.

In a statement on uefa.com, Binya's challenge was described as one which "seriously endangered the physical health of the opposing player".

Benfica can appeal against the ban, which rules Binya out of the Portuguese club's remaining Group D matches against AC Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk.

If unsuccessful, he will also miss any matches in the knockout stages of the Champions League or UEFA Cup.

The suspension will also carry over to future seasons if, as seems likely, Benfica finish bottom of Group D and bow out of Europe for this campaign.

Brown, who has been passed fit for Scotland's Euro 2008 qualifier against Italy, said straight after the Benfica match: "He obviously tried to do me as hard as possible."

It is the second time that UEFA has had to intervene following an incident involving Celtic this season.

AC Milan keeper Dida was handed a two-match ban, subsequently reduced to one on appeal, after collapsing theatrically when a fan of the Scottish club invaded the pitch and lightly slapped the Brazilian in the face.

Celtic were fined $50,000 and barred the supporter for life. E-mail to a friend
What match was this during? Who punished Binya? Who was punished with a six-match ban? What was Brown lucky to escape? For how long is Binya's ban? What penalty resulted in the ban? Who was lucky to escape injury? Who did he tackle? What nation does Binya play for? What is the length of the ban? For what reason was  Augustin Binya given a six game ban Who tackled Scott Brown?
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