Accrington Stanley player Sam Finley has been banned for eight matches for abusing Rochdale's Paul McShane on the grounds of his nationality.

The midfielder will also have to pay a fine of £850 and undergo a face-to-face education programme provided by the English FA for the abuse which occurred during a League One match between the sides on New Year's Day.

Finley initially denied that he had called the former Republic of Ireland international a 'p****' but his eventual admittance to the charge was used as a mitigating factor when the FA Regulatory Commission handed down the punishment.

McShane made an official complaint of racial abuse to the match referee, saying that Finley had called him a 'p****' in the 23rd minute of the game, which none of the officials had heard.

The referee, Tom Nield, conducted an interview with the player, with his manager present, and he denied the allegations, claiming only to have used the word "p***k" and not "p****".

The FA conducted their own interview on January 15th and Finley claimed to have said: "Fuck off back to your caravan you p***k".

It is revealed in the FA's official report, released on Tuesday, that on foot of being formally charged, Finley admitted to using the word 'p****'.

The Chairman of the Commission also asked as to whether Finley had been charged of any similar offences previously.

He was informed of an incident in 2016 when 'he used abusive and/or insulting words towards a Match Referee'.

On that occasion, when Finley was playing for AFC Fylde against Lowestoft Town in the National League North, he was suspended for four games for abusing a match official with insults which included references to sexual orientation.

The player was sent off for “foul and abusive language” after referee Josh Smith had awarded Lowestoft a penalty in their 3-1 win over Fylde.

When handing down its punishment today, the commission took an 11-match ban as a starting point but considered the insult as one referring just to McShane's nationality and did not treat it as an ethnic slur.

That, along with Finley's eventual admission of guilt, resulted in the lesser sanction.

He is suspended with immediate effect until Accrington have completed eight matches.

You can read the full report here.