Grimsby Town midfielder Elliott Whitehouse has been given a six-game ban and a £2,000 fine by the English FA for calling Irish player Alan McCormack "a pikey" during a League Two match.
The incident happened in the later stages of Grimsby's 2-0 defeat at Northampton Town last November.
An independent regulatory commission heard that Whitehouse used the derogatory term against Dubliner McCormack 72 minutes into the contest at the PTS Academy Stadium.
McCormack reported it to the referee and the incident was included in the match official's report.
Whitehouse, 26, denied the accusation initially but later pleaded guilty to a misconduct charge, admitting he'd used insulting and/or offensive words.
An FA statement read: "The Grimsby Town FC midfielder used abusive and/or insulting words, which were contrary to FA Rule E3(1) and constituted an 'aggravated breach', which is defined in FA Rule E3(2), as they included a reference to race and/or ethnic origin and/or nationality."
Whitehouse, who said in his defence that "he had no issue with the Irish Traveller community and is not in any way a racist", has also been instructed to undertake an FA education course.
