A Chinese soccer coach who slapped a referee on the side of his head during a second-tier match last month has been handed an eight-month match ban and fined 150,000 yuan ($20,905), the Chinese football association (CFA) said on Wednesday.

During a match on July 23 in Nanjing, after receiving a red card for insulting the referee, Liaoning Shenyang's coach Duan Xin "engaged in violent behaviour, hitting the referee's face, resulting in negative social impact," a CFA statement said.

For this he is "prohibited from entering the sports stadium for matches for a period of eight months" and fined 150,000 RMB, it added.

"The Chinese Football Association will strictly and resolutely handle all kinds of violations of rules and discipline in accordance with the provisions of the Disciplinary Code of the Chinese Football Association, in order to purify the atmosphere of the game.

"We hope that all parties involved will work together to maintain order on the field and preserve the hard-earned development environment of football."

Many fans complained that Duan's punishment, especially the ban, was far too light, according to the most liked comments on popular football news app dongqiudi.

However, one dongqiudi user highlighted his shock that according to the CFA's disciplinary regulations, the suggested ban time for hitting a match official is lighter, at six months, than for spitting at them, which suggests a 12 month ban.

The CFA notice was dated July 29, but only published it on Wednesday on their website.

The reason for the delay was unclear, although there has been heated debate over the disappointing exit from the Women's World Cup of the Chinese women's team on Tuesday and many fans have pointed the blame at the oft-criticised CFA.

The CFA did not respond to a Reuters query on this on Wednesday.