1 Hull City striker Yannick Sagbo

Hull striker Yannick Sagbo has been banned for two matches for a tweet he sent supporting Nicolas Anelka’s use of the quenelle gesture.

Sagbo admitted the offence and was originally handed a £15,000 fine, warned as to his future conduct and ordered to complete a compulsory education course.

But the Football Association appealed against the sanction on the grounds it was “so unduly lenient as to be unreasonable”.

An appeal board upheld the challenge and Sagbo will now miss Hull’s first two games of the new season.

A statement on thefa.com read: “At a hearing, an Independent Appeal Board upheld the FA’s appeal against the original sanction imposed and ordered that Sagbo be suspended for Hull City’s first two competitive first-team matches of the 2014-15 season in addition to the £15,000 fine and attendance at an education programme.

“This decision is final and binding and there is no right of further challenge.”

Anelka performed the controversial gesture after scoring for West Brom against West Ham in December.

In February, the striker was banned for five matches and fined £80,000. He then declared he was quitting West Brom, who sacked him for gross misconduct.