The obscene gesture came after brother Ryan Griffiths scored for their side Beijing Guoan in the weekend match with Henan Construction which ended in a dramatic 2-2 draw with a last minute goal in the top of the table clash.

Joel was pictured by local photographers as he made the gesture on the sidelines in front of rival fans during the  goal celebrations with his brother.

Now the ban could cost Joel his place at Beijing Guoan.

The Newcastle Jet is only on loan at the Chinese club until the end of their season which has just three games left and a decision on his future was expected in the next few days.

However it was understood new dad Joel was keen to stay on at the CSL side after snaring a lucrative contract and settling well into the local lifestyle.

The Jets were expected to agree a permanent transfer deal for one-time marquee star Griffiths, especially after they signed Italian Fabio Vignaroli as the replacement marquee following Griffiths's departure for Asia.

Newcastle would have been required to find space in the salary cap for the rest of the season for either Vignaroli or Griffiths to have them both in the side if Joel returned, which appeared unlikely.

However Guoan will almost certainly reconsider any deal to keep Griffiths after this latest ban which will rule him out for the rest of his loan deal with Beijing and into the first month of next season if he's still with the club.

An early return may also cause a headache for the Jets beancounters trying to balance the books with two contracted marquee stars.

Griffiths was also fined 50,000 yuan (AU$8,100) for the gesture.