Aron Johannsson was sent off for arguing with the referee. Simon Hofmann/Bongarts/Getty Images

United States international striker Aron Johannsson has been given a two-match ban following his red card in Werder Bremen's defeat at Borussia Monchengladbach.

Johannsson, 25, was sent off by referee Tobias Stieler ten minutes from the end of his side's 4-1 defeat on Saturday after arguing with the official following claims for handball by an opponent.

He later claimed the referee misheard him, telling reporters he had said: "It's a f------ handball, referee!" but that Stieler had understood it as: "F--- you, referee!"

On Tuesday, the German FA (DFB) announced that Johannsson had been given the ban and an €8,000 fine and will now miss the home games against Mainz and Wolfsburg.

Meanwhile, veteran attacker Claudio Pizarro, 37, will not be able to help his team, bottom of the table, for another month, local paper Kreiszeitung reported on Wednesday.

Pizarro, who scored 190 goals in 411 league games for Bremen and Bayern Munich, has been struggling with muscular problems and has yet to appear in a competitive match this term.