Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has denied spitting at a referee’s feet after being hit with a five-match stadium ban, instead claiming that he was only coughing.
Marinakis, 57, was handed his punishment last week following an alleged incident that took place following Forest’s 1-0 home defeat by Fulham on September 28.
Referee Josh Smith accused Marinakis of spitting at his feet as he walked through the tunnel after full time, and his statement was corroborated by fourth official Tim Robinson.
However, Marinakis defended himself against the charge by insisting that he was merely coughing as he blamed his behaviour on smoking ‘two or three cigars a day’.
Marinakis’s witness statement claimed he ‘spits in a tissue if one is available or on the floor if one is not available’.
Evangelos Marinakis (pictured) has been accused of spitting at the feet of a referee last month
Marinakis allegedly spat at the feet of referee Josh Smith (pictured) as he walked through the tunnel after Forest lost 1-0 at home to Fulham on September 28
Smith’s version of events was corroborated by fourth official Tim Robinson (pictured), but Marinakis has claimed he was only coughing
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The statement added that Marinakis was suffering from a ‘hacking cough’ on the day of the match at the City Ground, and that he could not recall whether any ‘spittle left his mouth’, but denied aiming at the referee’s feet.
A disciplinary panel reviewed the incident and released their report on Tuesday, condemning Marinakis’s ‘disgusting show of contempt’.
The report read: ‘In our view, the only reasonable inference we can draw from our rejection of EM’s for the spit is that EM 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.’
Marinakis’s fury came after watching his side lose to a Raul Jimenez penalty, Forest’s only league loss of the season to date.
Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo also complained about the penalty decision after the game, claiming defender Murillo’s challenge of Andreas Pereira was ‘not intentional’.
Marinakis was handed his lengthy ban just days after Nuno and midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White were also punished for their behaviour during Forest’s 2-2 draw with Brighton last month.
Morgan Gibbs-White was charged for his reaction to being sent of against Brighton last month
Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo was also charged for reacting furiously to the red card
Forest have also recently been fined for their social media attack on a VAR official after losing to Everton last season
Gibbs-White was sent off for a second bookable offence at the Amex Stadium, and he and Nuno were later charged for their reaction to the red card. Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler was also charged by the FA for his touchline conduct during the game.
Forest have already landed themselves in hot water with referees on multiple occasions this season, and were fined £750,000 for their attack on a VAR official following their 2-0 loss to Everton last term.
They felt they should have been awarded three penalties at Goodison Park, and took to X after the match to infer that VAR official Stuart Attwell could be subject to bias due to being ‘a Luton fan’, another club involved in a relegation battle with Forest at the time.
‘Three extremely poor decisions – three penalties not given – which we simply cannot accept,’ the club’s post on X read.
‘We warned the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game but they didn’t change him. Our patience has been tested multiple times. NFFC will now consider its options.’
Marinakis missed Forest’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Monday, with Chris Wood netting the winner
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After a lengthy review of Forest’s post, the FA confirmed the hefty fine earlier this month.
Marinakis was not in the stadium as Forest beat Crystal Palace 1-0 on Monday night, with Chris Wood scoring the only goal of the game to move his side up to eighth in the table.
The Greek owner must remain away from Forest’s next four games to complete his ban.
