Papiss Cisse Banned For Spitting

7 March 2015, 12:32 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

Both Newcastle United's Papiss Cisse and Manchester United's Jonny Evans have been banned for spitting

The duo have been punished following an altercation between them during Wednesday's Barclays Premier League clash at St James' Park.

Striker Cisse accepted his FA charge on Thursday but defender Evans pleaded not guilty and his case was heard on Friday night.

They've  now been handed lengthy suspensions, with Cisse's punishment one game higher than the standard tariff for spitting due to an elbowing offence earlier this season.

An FA statement on Saturday read: ``Both players were charged in relation to an alleged breach of FA Rule E1[a] in that in or around the 38th minute of the fixture they spat at each other.

``Mr Cisse accepted the charge and his suspension consists of six matches, which is the standard penalty for this offence, with an additional one match as he has previously accepted a violent conduct charge this season.

``Mr Evans denied the charge but it was found proven following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing on Friday, resulting in a six-match suspension.''

Both bans will begin with immediate effect, meaning Evans will miss Monday's FA Cup quarter-final clash with Arsenal.

Cisse, meanwhile, will be unavailable for the Magpies' league fixtures against Everton, Arsenal, Sunderland, Liverpool, Tottenham, Swansea and Leicester.

There will only be three games remaining when Newcastle's leading scorer, who issued a statement apologising for spitting, becomes available once again for West Brom's visit to Tyneside on May 9.

Cisse's ban was longer than six games due to an incident in December when he elbowed Everton's Seamus Coleman and was also caught out on video evidence.