Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has lost his appeal against the five-game stadium ban he received for spitting on the floor as match officials walked past him during the 1-0 loss against Fulham in September.
The 57-year-old had been given the ban by an independent commission in mid-October, following a Football Association (FA) charge of misconduct, before the written reasons were published by the FA later in the month and revealed what the suspension was for.
Marinakis, who first took charge of Forest in 2017, has now had his appeal rejected by another independent commission.
In the written reasons for Marinakis’ ban, referee Josh Smith, assistant James Mainwaring and fourth official Tim Robinson, who officiated the defeat by Fulham on September 29, all testified that the Greek businessman spat on the floor by them as they walked in the tunnel to their changing room.
Marinakis denied that he spat at them but that 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”.
Marinakis’ defence was that he “smokes 2 or 3 cigars a day” and “often needs to expectorate and/or coughs. His coughs contain phlegm”.
It added: “If he (Marinakis) has to spit, he spits in a tissue if one is available or on the floor if he does not have one available. Sometimes when he coughs spit or phlegm can go to the floor.
“On the day of the incident he was suffering from a hacking cough. He was taking lozenges.”
Marinakis’ account of events was rejected by the match officials when put to them and the commission, which said: “We unhesitatingly reject (Marinakis’) account that he spat or expectorated as a result of a cough. We are satisfied that he deliberately spat on the floor as the referee walked past him.”
Marinakis has already served three matches of the five-game ban but will miss his side’s home game against Newcastle United on Sunday and trip to Arsenal after the international break.
(Michael Steele/Getty Images)
