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Both Papiss Cisse and Jonny Evans have been given heavy bans after both were found guilty of spitting at each other during Manchester United’s 1-0 victory over Newcastle on Wednesday night.
Cisse had admitted his charge by the FA and has been suspended for the next seven games, having received a ban one match longer than Evans due to a previous suspension this season for violent conduct.
Evans denied the charge though, with the news emerging on Friday night that the United defender would contest the FA’s decision in a case hearing that evening.
Football's spitting controversies
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However, both have been found guilty after video footage appeared to show both players spitting in the direction of one another, and it could have serious ramifications on their respective clubs’ run-ins to the end of the season.
Crucially for United, it means that Evans will miss their FA Cup sixth round tie against Arsenal on Monday night, as well as Premier League games against top-four rivals Tottenham and Liverpool. The Northern Irishman will also miss the games against the top two, with the visit of fierce rivals Manchester City on 12 April swiftly followed by a trip to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea six days later.
Should United beat the Gunners on Monday, their match against the Blues will be postponed to make way for an FA Cup semi-final, but with Aston Villa facing United after the Liverpool match on 04 April, the final game of Evans’ six-match ban would depend on when the match is rescheduled to.
Should it come after the following Sunday on 26 April, Evans will miss the match against Everton, but would be available to face Jose Mourinho’s side.
Cisse’s seven-match ban rules him out for the majority of the season, and with Newcastle already out of the FA Cup, his ban is far more straight-forward. The Senegalese striker will miss games against Everton, Arsenal, Sunderland, Liverpool, Spurs, Swansea and Leicester, and would only be eligible to return for the final three games of the season against West Brom, QPR and West Ham.
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