Italian suspensions vs English suspensions

In Italy there has been some discussion about the four-round suspension inflicted to AC Milan's Philippe Mexès. The French defender was found guilty of having punched Giorgio Chiellini during the match between Juventus and AC Milan; the referee didn't realize what had happened, but the images recorded doesn't leave enough space for other interpretations. Four rounds could be enough for such a bad behaviour, however comparing this suspension to what happened in the English Premier League in some episodes, it could not seem sufficient. For example, in August 2006, Ben Thatcher, who played for Manchester City, attacked with a elbow Pedro Mendes, of Portsmouth. For that shocking action Thatcher was suspended for eight matches. Another example can be easily found with a player who is famous for being rude, Joey Barton. He was suspended several times, but the one when attacked more than one Manchester City players during the same match was unbealivable; he was banned for 12 rounds.

Actually it's easy to discern the difference of import between the two English example and what Mexès did, but maybe in Italy there is a lack of severity; such events should be condemn as much as possible.