Calvin Andrew was given a 12-match ban with immediate effect following an incident which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video.
The Rochdale player was involved in an act of violent conduct in or around the 77th minute of the game against Oldham Athletic on 29 October 2016.
Furthermore, it was alleged that the standard punishment of three matches that would otherwise apply would be clearly insufficient.
The player admitted his behaviour constituted violent conduct but denied the clearly insufficient element of the charge.
However, this was found proven following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing on Thursday 3 November 2016.
However, Andrew’s appeal was upheld following a hearing from an Independent Appeal Board on 17 November and his suspension was reduced from 12 games to nine.
