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Jonny Evans has denied any wrongdoing, while Papiss Cisse has issued a far-reaching apology, but both players have been charged by the FA after appearing to spit at each other during Manchester United's 1-0 victory over Newcastle .
The pair now have until 6:00pm on Friday to appeal, with the possibility of a suspension of six games for Evans and seven for Cisse if they are found guilty.
Spitting is one of football's universally-condemned offences, yet as the actions of the likes of Frank Rijkaard, Fabian Barthez and El-Hadji Diouf show, the Evans/Cisse spat (for want of a better word) is just the latest in a long line of saliva-related disputes.
Here, we recount ten of football's most notorious spitting controversies:
Show all 10 1 /10Football's spitting controversies Football's spitting controversies Frank Rijkaard vs Rudi Voller, 1990 One of the most unsavoury moments in World Cup history, and perhaps football's most notorious spitting controversy of all. First, the Dutch legend followed up a strong tackle of the mulleted German striker with a subtle spit at his opponent - Voller was booked for his protestations. The pair were later embroiled in a fracas that led to both receiving their marching orders. Before leaving the pitch, Rijkaard aimed another, more substantial mouthful at Voller's inviting mane.
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Football's spitting controversies Patrick Vieira vs Neil Ruddock, 1999 Two of the Premier League era's most fearsome hard men had battled throughout a feisty encounter between Arsenal and West Ham until Vieira received his marching orders. Employing Frank Rijkaard's 'Well, I've been sent off already' logic, Viera spat at Razor, and earned himself a six-match ban.
Football's spitting controversies El-Hadji Diouf vs Celtic fans, 2003 The first of two appearances on the list by the controversial Senegalese winger, Diouf was banned for two games and fined by both Glasgow Crown Court and his club Liverpool after spitting at a Celtic fan during their UEFA Cup quarter-final clash. Diouf would later sign for Rangers in a bid to further endear himself to the Parkhead faithful.
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Football's spitting controversies Francesco Totti vs Christian Poulsen, 2004 Totti has courted controversy throughout his illustrious career, never more so than when he was banned for three games after taking it upon himself to spit at sometime-Liverpool midfielder Christian Poulsen at Euro 2004. "The true Francesco Totti is not the one on the video," the Roma legend explained.
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Football's spitting controversies El-Hadji Diouf vs Arjan De Zeuuw, 2004 Diouf, showing a Louis Suarez-esque ability to learn from his own mistakes, was in in the dock again and earned a three-game ban after firing a mouth-missile towards Arjan de Zeeuw during Bolton's 1-0 defeat to Portsmouth. Afterwards, he admitted: "My behaviour showed a lack of moral responsibility to the public who support me and I'm deeply sorry."
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Football's spitting controversies Fabian Barthez vs Abdellah El Achiri (a referee), 2005 Barthez's crime is of particular note given that it occurred during a friendly, as Marseille met Morocco's WAC Casablanca. Despite having already been substituted, the goalkeeper took it upon himself to run onto the pitch, wade into a brawl and spit at the referee. "I’m not guilty because I didn’t spit at his face,” Barthez insisted. He was banned for six months.
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Football's spitting controversies John Terry vs Carlos Tevez, 2008 The 2008 Champions League final wasn't the best of nights for the Chelsea skipper. Not only did he miss the crucial penalty in the shoot-out that handed the trophy to Manchester United, he was also accused of wiping his nose before subtly transferring the contents onto Carlos Tevez's neck. Terry denied wrongdoing and escaped punishment with the evidence inconclusive.
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Football's spitting controversies Lionel Messi vs Duda, 2008 Proof that even the game's true superstars can occasionally lose their head, and control of their saliva. Messi took exception to a challenge from the Brazilian defender during Barcelona's victory over Malaga and was caught by TV cameras appearing to aim a sneaky spit at his opponent's back, but no action was taken.
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Football's spitting controversies Cristiano Ronaldo vs Robbie Savage, 2009 The Portuguese superstar was by no means the first to be riled by Robbie Savage when the pair tussled during Manchester United's 4-1 FA Cup victory over Derby. Photos seemed to show Ronaldo aiming some phlegm in the direction of the Welshman during the incident, but Savage graciously insisted that "nothing happened" and his opponent was cleared of any wrongdoing.
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Football's spitting controversies George Boyd vs Joe Hart, 2014 Hull's clash with Manchester City was already an ill-tempered affair before Joe Hart took exception to how George Boyd went down under the goalkeeper's challenge. As the pair squared up, Boyd appeared to spit as he delivered a (verbal) mouthful into his opponents' face. "He wouldn't do that, no chance," insisted Hull manager Steve Bruce. The FA disagreed, and banned the Scottish midfielder for three games.
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