Manchester United defender Jonny Evans and Newcastle Unitedstriker Papiss Cisse have been charged by the Football Association following allegations of ‘spitting’ from the two players in a game on Wednesday evening.
With Ashley Young’s 89th-minute winner salvaging all three points for the Red Devils, all attention was turned to the duo after television pictures appeared to how Evans spitting at Cisse after the Senegalese international went to ground; before the forward retaliated by stretching out to grab his opponent for spitting back in his direction.
Newcastle’s Cisse has since issued an apology for his involvement in the dispute, although Northern Ireland international Evans has denied any involvement in spitting. Nevertheless, the FA have acted promptly to change the pair, as confirmed in a statement on the governing body’s official website.
“The charges relate to an alleged breach of FA Rule E1[a] in that in or around the 38th minute of the game the two players spat at each other. The incidents were not seen by the match officials but caught on video. Both players have until 6pm on Friday 6 March 2015 to respond to the charge.
“In Premier League matches, if an incident has not been seen by the match officials, a three-man panel of former elite referees will be asked by The FA to review the footage independently of each other. They will then advise what, if any action, they believe the match referee should have taken had it been witnessed at the time.
“For an FA charge to follow, all three panel members must agree it is a sending-off offence. In this instance, the decision by the panel was unanimous in respect of both players.”
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has rushed to the defence of his player, who also believes the heavily-criticised centre-back was not involved in such an issue. Evans himself commented on the situation, saying:
“I was totally unaware of any spitting incident and had assumed that the issue at the time was with the challenge and his attempted retaliation to the tackle from the floor. During the game, Papiss Cisse and I spoke about the incident and it is clear by my reaction in the television footage that I was totally surprised by any suggestion of spitting.
“It is not in my character or in my nature to spit at anybody, nor is it something I have ever done or would ever do. It is certainly not something that I did last night.”
Cisse similarly released a statement, and confirmed he spat at Evans before apologising for his actions, published shortly before the Red Devil.
“I reacted to something I found very unpleasant. Sometimes it is hard not to react, particularly in the heat of the moment. I have always tried hard to be a positive role model, especially for our young fans, and yesterday I let you down.
“I hope children out there playing football for their clubs and schools this weekend will know better than to retaliate when they are angry. Perhaps when they see the problem it now causes me and my team, they will be able to learn from my mistake, not copy it.”
The duo after expected to each serve a six-match ban for their involvement in the misconduct.
Source: Vavel
