By Mohamed Fajah Barrie BBC Sport, Freetown

Mohamed Kallon has been suspended for Sierra Leone's next three games

The captain of Sierra Leone, Mohamed Kallon, along with three other Leone Stars players have been suspended by the Confederation of African Football (Caf).

Kallon has received a three-match ban for insulting Burkinabe referee Lassina Pare after Sierra Leone lost 3-1 to Togo in Lome in a 2008 African Cup of Nations qualifier in March.

The ban means the striker, who plays for French club Monaco, will miss all of Sierra Leone's remaining Nations Cup qualifiers.

Three other players - Kallon's elder brother Kemokai, Belgium-based Ibrahim Kargbo and Costa Rica-based goalkeeper Michael Tommy - were all banned for two games for the same reason.

Caf letters to the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) said that the match commissioner and referee's report stated: "Mohamed Kallon, Kemokai Kallon and Michael Tommy misbehaved when they physically attacked the referee and in the process kicked the chair of the 4th official."

The SLFA were also fined US$5,000 for the incident.

The general secretary of the SLFA, Alimu Bah, told BBC Sport that he was disappointed by the decision and that it will appeal to Caf.

Coach of Leone Stars, John Jebbor Sherrington, was not happy either: "The suspension of the players is a big blow to my team and I'm not happy with Caf's decision."

This is not Kallon's first suspension from football, because he was banned from the game for eight months in 2003 after he was found guilty of using banned drugs.

Sierra Leone are currently bottom of Group Nine in the Nations Cup qualifiers and their remaining games are against the other teams in the group: Togo, Mali and Benin.