Manchester United center-back Jonny Evans and Newcastle United striker Papiss Cisse have been charged over allegations that they spat at each other, the Football Association (FA) said on Thursday.
The incident occurred during United’s 1-0 Premier League win over Newcastle at St James’ Park on Wednesday.
Evans has denied spitting at Cisse, but the Newcastle striker has issued a public apology for his behavior. Both players could face six-game bans if the charges against them are proven.
Photo: Reuters
“Newcastle United’s Papiss Cisse and Manchester United’s Jonny Evans have both been charged by the FA following their game on Wednesday 4 March 2015,” the FA said in a statement on its Web site.
“The charges are in relation 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,” it said.
Cisse quickly accepted the FA charge, with Newcastle managing director Lee Charnley saying: “Both ourselves and Papiss agree that this kind of behavior is not acceptable.”
“In life, when you do something wrong you have to front up, admit your mistakes and accept the punishment,” Charnley said. “Papiss was proactive this morning in making a full and heartfelt apology, which he did in advance of any notification from the FA regarding this charge.”
The incident occurred following a tangle between the players near the halfway line. As the pair climbed to their feet, Evans seemed to spit toward the ground and Cisse appeared to react by spitting at the United defender’s neck.
Referee Anthony Taylor did not take action against either player, but footage of the incident was reviewed by a three-man panel of former elite referees, who all agreed that both players should have been sent off.
In a statement on the United Web site, Evans said: “Having woken up this morning, I am shocked to have seen the media coverage from last night’s match. I would like to make it clear that I did not spit at Papiss Cisse.”
“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,” Evans said.
“It is not in my character ... to spit at anybody, nor is it something I have ever done or would ever do,” he added. “It is certainly not something that I did last night.”
In a statement of his own, Senegalese striker Cisse apologized to his Newcastle teammates, the club’s supporters, Evans and “to every football fan who saw the incident.”
“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 positive a role model, especially for our young fans and yesterday I let you down,” he added. “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.”
United manager Louis van Gaal attempted to draw a line beneath the matter by backing Evans’ claim that he had not spat at Cisse.
“He wasn’t aware that he was spitting and when he was spitting on the ground, maybe that is a natural thing from a human being,” the Dutchman told a press conference. “It was not his intention and that I said already. I cannot imagine that Jonny Evans could do that and he has said that also. I believe him, so for me the matter has been done.”
American rugby sevens star Ilona Maher is to join 15-a-side club Bristol next month in a bid to play in next year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup, the English club announced on Monday. Maher, 28, helped the US to a bronze medal at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris and is the seven-a-side sport’s most popular player on social media. “This is a huge coup to be able to bring Ilona Maher to Bristol Bears on a short-term deal,” Bristol head coach Dave Ward said. “She is one of the biggest names in women’s sport, let alone rugby, and we believe she will
New Taipei Kings guard Jeremy Lin on Friday was named the Taiwan Professional Basketball League’s (TPBL) Player of the Month, the first domestic player to win the award, while the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers are to welcome their third head coach in less than a year. Lin averaged 22 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists over five games in October and last month, helping the Kings to second in the standings with a 4-2 record as of Friday. The Kings last night defeated the Lioneers 96-78 to move level with the top-of-the-table Formosa Dreamers (5-2), while in the night game, the New Taipei
LeBron James is in quite the shooting slump — especially from long distance, highlighted by his zero-for-four effort from three-point range for the Los Angeles Lakers in their 109-80 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday. That return stretched the nearly-40-year-old’s skid to zero-for-19 from deep over his past four games. James’ birthday is on Dec. 30. After going four-for-16 from the floor overall with six of his team’s 20 turnovers for a season-low 10 points against the Timberwolves, James was asked to reflect on the Lakers reaching the quarter mark of their 2024-2025 schedule under rookie coach J.J. Redick at 12-9. “I
TO NO AVAIL: The Denver Nuggets’ Serbian center Nikola Jokic surpassed his 53-point performance in the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix The Washington Wizards withstood a 56-point explosion from Denver star Nikola Jokic to beat the Nuggets 122-113 on Saturday and snap their 16-game NBA losing streak. Jokic, who won his third NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award last season, posted a career scoring high — surpassing a 53-point performance in game four of the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix and a 50-point regular-season best against Sacramento in 2021. The Serbian big man added 16 rebounds and eight assists, but it was all to no avail as Washington, buoyed by 39 points from Jordan Poole, won for the first time
RSS