Rotherham defender Kirk Broadfoot has been banned for 10 matches after a misconduct charge against him was found proven by the English FA.
An Independent Regulatory Commission hearing deemed the Scot had "used abusive/and or insulting words towards a member of the opposition."
The offence was deemed to be "an aggravated breach of E3 (2)" - this relates to a person’s ethnic origin, colour, race, nationality, face, gender, sexual orientation or disability.
As a result Broadfoot was also fined £7,500 and ordered to complete an education programme.
The incident occurred during a Championship clash on 14 March of this year.
James McClean, recently transferred to West Brom, got into an altercation with Broadfoot, who was unhappy at the award of a free-kick which he felt the Republic of Ireland international had dived to win.
Although the FA has refused to expand on details of the incident, it is believed the abuse directed towards McClean was of a sectarian nature and the resulting penalty has been increased to reflect that.
After that game Broadfoot told the Sheffield Star: "He's cheating. That is cheating. I am nowhere near him and he's diving."
The ban is a record for verbal abuse in English football, beating the eight games handed to Luis Suarez when he was found guilty of racially abusing Patrice Evra in December 2011.
Back in 2009, Broadfoot also made the news for the wrong reasons after he suffered burns after a microwaved poached egg exploded in his face.
