Vitesse Arnhem will be without defender Sebastien Sansoni for the foreseeable future after he was hit with a five-game ban.

Sansoni made a biting motion towards opponent Roy Beerens during the match between Vitesse and NEC on Sunday.

The case was dealt with by a KNVB prosecutor, whose offer of the five-match ban was accepted by the club, despite Sansoni's insistence that he made the gesture "just to scare him off".

The match referee, Belgian Paul Allaerts, did not see the incident, but the prosecutor watched television footage before coming to his decision.

Vitesse had already given Sansoni a two-match ban plus a fine.