Joss Labadie: Six-month ban for Dagenham & Redbridge midfielder

Dagenham and Redbridge midfielder Joss Labadie has picked up five yellow cards in 27 appearances this season

Dagenham and Redbridge's Joss Labadie has been banned for six months for his second biting offence in a year.

The 24-year-old midfielder had served a 10-game suspension for biting while playing for Torquay United last season.

He denied a charge of violent conduct for biting Stevenage defender Ronnie Henry in March but was found guilty by the Football Association.

Labadie's suspension begins with immediate effect and he has also been fined £2,000 by the FA.

In a statement on the club website, Dagenham and Redbridge said: "Both the player and the club are awaiting the written report from the FA hearing before deciding their next steps."

The former Tranmere player made 27 appearances for the Daggers this season, having joined from Torquay last summer.

The incident occurred when Labadie challenged Henry late on in an ill-tempered game, and then failed to release the ball after it had gone out for a throw in.

Labadie was booked, and the two players were later involved in a confrontation in the tunnel after the game.

Biting is seen as one of the most serious examples of violent conduct by the game's authorities.

Former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, now with Barcelona, has been banned for biting on three occasions, with each one attracting a more serious ban.

In November 2010, he was given a seven-match suspension for biting during a Dutch league game, but in April 2013 committed a similar offence against Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic and received a 10-game ban.

Last summer, he was banned from all football activity for four months, plus nine international matches, for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini, while playing for Uruguay during the World Cup.