Roma striker Mattia Destro has been banned for three matches for elbowing an opponent during the 3-1 win at Cagliari on Sunday in which he scored a hat-trick.

Serie A’s disciplinary panel said it had based the decision on television evidence after the referee missed the incident.

The tribunal said in a statement that Destro elbowed Cagliari defender Davide Astori in the 33rd minute of the game, an act which it classed as “violent conduct.”

Match officials, who in Italy include two extra assistants on the goal-line, confirmed to the tribunal that they took no action because none of them saw the incident, the report added.

Destro, who had just opened the scoring, went on to score twice more in the second half.

The 23-year-old will also miss a fourth game after being booked later in the match and picking up an automatic one-match suspension for accumulated yellow cards.

Destro has scored 13 goals in 18 appearances since returning from a knee injury in December and the suspension is a serious blow to Roma’s title hopes.

Roma are second in Serie A, eight points behind leaders Juventus with six matches left to play.

It could also affect Destro’s chances of winning a place in Italy’s World Cup squad as coach Cesare Prandelli does not tolerate indiscipline by his players, even when they are playing for their clubs.