Papiss Cisse just had to take his punishment over Jonny Evans spitting incident, says Newcastle boss John Carver

Cissé will be a big miss for Newcastle during his seven-game suspension

Papiss Cissé will be a big miss for Newcastle during his seven-game suspension for spitting (Getty Images)

Newcastle United’s head coach, John Carver, has admitted he could not defend Papiss Cissé after the striker spat at the Manchester United defender Jonny Evans.

The 29-year-old Senegal international will begin a seven-match ban tomorrow when his team-mates visit Everton in the Premier League, after he accepted a Football Association improper conduct charge.

Both players were charged on video evidence after Evans – who was found guilty after denying the offence – appeared to spit at Cissé, who reacted in kind. The Newcastle man will sit out one more match than Evans, having already served a suspension for an earlier misdemeanour.

Carver said: “Papiss owned up to it straight away. I sat with him and I said, ‘Listen, I can’t defend you on this, you’ve done wrong and have to accept whatever punishment you get’. There’s no place in the game for it [spitting]. It’s one of the lowest forms of anything you can do on the pitch.

“A lot of players would have acted differently. He was provoked, and retaliating in the same manner is just as bad.”

Newcastle sit comfortably in mid-table but are still intent on a top-10 finish. They have relied heavily on Cissé’s 11 goals during a season interrupted by injury and international duty.

Carver said: “He was a loss [when he was] at the African Nations Cup, and he’s a loss now as our main attacking threat. But this is a chance for others now and they’ve got to step up to the plate.

“We’re putting a team out now that’s giving people opportunities to score goals. Manu Rivière needs one goal and he could go on a run.”