BEIJING (AFP) - China's Football Association (FA) has slapped an eight-game touchline ban on Shanghai SIPG coach Andre Villas-Boas for lobbing an "insult" at a referee, effectively ending his Super League season.

The association said on its website that Villas-Boas was fined 40,000 yuan (S$8,110), as well as barred from the touchline for four Chinese Super League games and four other "official games" hosted by the FA.

The ban comes as Shanghai SIPG are four points behind league leaders Guangzhou Evergrande with just four games to go in the championship. SIPG had eliminated Evergrande on penalties after a 4-4 aggregate score in the AFC Champions League (ACL) quarter-finals.

The FA said the Portuguese manager "insulted" and made "insulting gestures" at the referee around the 78th minute of Shanghai SIPG's 1-0 victory over Beijing Guoan on Sept 22.

"Respect for the rules, referees, fans, opponents and the game is what we asked of all football players," the FA said.

Villas-Boas was already banned for two games by the FA earlier this season over a social media post.

On Tuesday, the Asian Football Confederation fined him US$14,000 (S$19,000) for making "offensive" comments during the ACL quarter-finals, which his team won, though he escaped a ban.