LONDON (Reuters) - Manchester City defender Ben Thatcher has been handed an eight-match ban plus a 15-game suspended ban for his nasty foul on Plymouth's Pedro Mendes last month, the Football Association announced on Tuesday.

The eight-match suspension takes effect retroactively from August 26, three days after the incident when Thatcher crashed elbow first into the Portuguese midfielder as both players chased a ball over the touchline in a Premier League match.

The extra suspended ban on Thatcher, who had already been banned by his club for six games the week after the incident, can be activated at any time in the next two years if the player is found guilty of another serious foul.

The FA's Independent Disciplinary Commission took action despite Thatcher having been booked for the foul after studying television footage of the match in Manchester.

The FA said on its Web site: "The incident was considered as an exceptional case because the FA contends that the challenge was sufficiently serious that had Thatcher been sent off an additional sanction would have been merited."