Whitehawk have banned top scorer Mark Sheriff for the rest of the season.

The livewire striker has also been fined £60 by the club following an alleged assault on referee Harry Ford in the match against Littlehampton last Saturday.

The move is the first major decision made by former boss Paul Hubbard following his appointment as chairman in succession to the retiring Ken Powell.

Hubbard wants more clubs to take action against their own players in a bid to clean up the game in Sussex.

Sheriff allegedly assaulted the referee after being shown the red card for violent conduct.

Hubbard, who believes his club runs one of the strictest disciplinary codes in Sussex, said: "We won't tolerate behaviour like that from any of our players.

"When Mark came to us last season I think he had lost his credibility. We worked very hard with him and I feel we were winning.

"But Mark, on Saturday, lapsed back into his old ways and we felt we needed to act immediately. It is a shame a few other clubs are not brave enough to do this themselves."

Burgess Hill had made a seven-day approach for the 22-goal striker last week and it appeared Sheriff may move on.

However, the Sussex FA have followed Whitehawk's club ban by charging Sheriff with common assault and suspended him from all football with immediate effect.

Sheriff's case will be heard by the Sussex FA within 28 days of the offence.

The maximum penalty for common assault is a 182-day suspension and that is an addition to any punishment for the original red card.

It has been a busy month for Whitehawk. Hubbard stepped down as boss in December after four years in charge to concentrate on his role as vice-chairman, but he now finds himself elevated to chairman.

That follows the sudden retirement of Powell after 23 years as chairman of the East Brighton Park club. Coach Terry Graves also quit when Hubbard stepped down and Colin Jenkinson was placed in caretaker control.

Hubbard wants Jenkinson to take charge on a permanent basis.

But he admits the travelling from his Horsham home could be a problem for Jenkinson and the pair are planning talks ahead of tomorrow's match with Wick.