Nottingham Forest
BREAKING;NOTTINGHAM FOREST OWNER,ISSUED FIVE-MATCH BAN…
NOTTINGHAM FOREST OWNER EVANGELOS MARINAKIS ISSUED FIVE-MATCH BAN FOR SPITTING TOWARDS OFFICIALS AFTER DEFEAT TO FULHAM
Evangelos Marinakis was served with a five-match stadium ban for spitting on the floor in Nottingham Forest’s Premier League match against Fulham on September 28.
The Forest owner received the ban last Friday for misconduct, with the reasoning behind the ban emerging on Tuesday.
Marinakis was seen spitting on the floor in the direction of the match officials following the 1-0 defeat, with Raul Jimenez scoring the only goal of the game from the penalty spot following an intervention by VAR.
The 57-year-old said he “felt a cough coming and he coughed on the floor, down and to his right which was away from the path the officials were taking”.
However, an independent regulatory commission was not satisfied by his statement and said: “We are satisfied that he deliberately spat on the floor as the referee walked past him.
“Regrettably, we regard EM’s [Marinakis’] attempt to explain and justify his conduct as completely implausible
“In our view, the only reasonable inference we can draw from our rejection of EM’s explanation for the spit is that EM deliberately spat in a disrespectful and disgusting display of contempt towards the match officials.
“In our view, there is no other credible explanation for his conduct. In the circumstances, it clearly amounts to misconduct within the meaning of Rule E3. Consequently, we found the charge proven.
“An egregious display of disrespectful behaviour such as this fuels disrespect towards match officials. This was not conduct triggered in the heat of the moment as a result of a decision on the field. There is no excuse for it.
“EM’s position as the owner of the football club aggravates the sanction. His conduct was entirely unacceptable and deserving of a serious punishment.”
This is the latest in a series of recent punishments issued to Forest after head coach Nuno Espirito Santo was banned for three games and fined £55,000, while Morgan Gibbs-White was suspended for one match after their behaviour in September’s 2-2 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion.
TNT Sports will show over 500 matches from the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League across the 2024-25 season. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.
