CWMBRAN Celtic last night slammed a Football Association of Wales disciplinary panel for suspending striker Scott Lanyon until 2011 - after it found him guilty of assaulting a match referee.

The 24-year-old goal-getter is suspended from all aspects of football up to and including December 31, 2010 and has been fined £250 plus costs – he has 10 days from yesterday to appeal the decision.

Lanyon (pictured) was hauled up before a three-strong panel at the governing body’s plush, multi-million pound HQ in Cardiff on Thursday.

His ban follows news from the Gwent FA that referees are receiving ‘abusive’ telephone calls, while statistics also show that dissent towards officials is alarmingly on the rise in Gwent football.

Lanyon had received a yellow card in the away MacWhirter Welsh League match at Ammanford on October 11, but got involved in a post-match verbal exchange with referee Ryan Thomas as they made their towards the dressing rooms.

Eventually Mr Thomas issued a second yellow, followed by a red card and included the incident in his match report. Eye-witnesses have told the Argus that both stood "nose to nose" but that Lanyon didn’t physically touch Mr Thomas.

Two Celtic officials conveyed similar information to the panel, but their witness accounts counted for nothing. The club issued a statement which reads: "First and foremost, the club wishes to make it absolutely clear that it would never support any player that it believed was guilty of assaulting a match official.

"In this particular case, we obviously do not believe this and we sent two officials (who were both present at the game) to the hearing as witnesses, who have almost a hundred years experience in local football administration between them and we are disappointed that their evidence appears to have been completely ignored.

"The two people themselves are distraught at the thought that their honesty and integrity has been brought into question by the decision of the disciplinary panel and one of them is seriously questioning whether he wants to continue his long involvement in local football.

"We are extremely disappointed with the referee’s original charge, the outcome of the hearing and the length of the sentence."

Lanyon was charged with the middle of the governing body’s three graded assault charges – assault on a match official but with no physical damage – and that carries a ban of up to two years.

The incident and the outcome gives more credibility to those who believe the Respect campaign, introduced to build a bridge between match officials and players, has simply not worked. And figures on the Gwent Football Association’s official web-site clearly indicate that player offences have increased this season.

In the 2008-09 campaign, there were a total number of 490 cautions. However with only two months gone of the current season, the figure already stands at 295.

It’s a similar story on the charge of bringing the game into disrepute. Eight cases were heard during 2008-09, but with still seven months remaining of 2009-10, the count is already up to three.

The GFA site also reports a disturbing, post-game trend developing against referees. In official statement aimed at all clubs, the disciplinary secretary writes: "It has been reported that referees are having abusive telephone calls.

"Any player or club found guilty of making these type of call will be dealt with very severely. This is a sure way of losing the small number of referees we have."

The statement ends with ‘you have been warned’ in bold type.