Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has denied spitting at a referee’s feet after being hit with a five-match ban, claiming instead he was just coughing.
Marinakis, 57, was sentenced last week following an alleged incident that took place following Forest’s 1-0 home defeat to 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 confirmed by fourth official Tim Robinson.
However, Marinakis defended himself against the accusation by insisting he was only coughing, blaming his behavior on smoking “two or three cigars a day.”
Marinakis’ witness statement claimed he “spits into a handkerchief if one is available, or on the ground if one is not available.”
Evangelos Marinakis (pictured) has been accused of spitting at a referee’s feet 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.
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The statement added that on the day of the match at the City Ground, Marinakis suffered from a ‘cough’ and could not remember if there was ‘saliva coming out of his mouth’, but denied standing on the feet of the referee had aimed.
A disciplinary panel reviewed the incident and released their report on Tuesday, condemning Marinakis’ “disgusting display of contempt.”
The report said: ‘In our view, the only reasonable inference we can draw from our rejection of EMs for spit is that EM is displaying a disrespectful and disgusting display of contempt towards the match officials.
“In our view, there is no other credible explanation for his behavior. In the circumstances this clearly amounts to misconduct under Rule E3. We have therefore found the accusation proven.’
Marinakis’ anger came after seeing his side lose to a penalty from Raul Jimenez, Forest’s only league defeat of the season so far.
Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo also complained about the penalty decision after the match, claiming defender Murillo’s challenge on Andreas Pereira was ‘not intentional’.
Marinakis was handed his long-term ban just days after Nuno and midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White were also punished for their behavior during Forest’s 2-2 draw with Brighton last month.
Gibbs-White was sent off for a second bookable offense at the Amex Stadium, and he and Nuno were later charged for their response to the red card. Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler was also charged by the FA over his touchline behavior during the match.
Forest have been in trouble with referees several times this season and were fined £750,000 for their attack on a VAR official following their 2-0 defeat to Everton last season.
They felt they should have been awarded three penalties at Goodison Park, and went to was in a relegation battle with Forest. at the time.
“Three extremely bad decisions – three penalties not given – that we simply cannot accept,” the club’s post on X read.
‘We warned the PGMOL before the match that the VAR is a Luton fan, but they didn’t change it. Our patience has been tested several times. NFFC will now consider its options.”
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After a lengthy review of Forest’s message, the FA confirmed the hefty fine earlier this month.
Marinakis was not in the stadium when Forest beat Crystal Palace 1-0 on Monday evening, with Chris Wood scoring the only goal of the match to move his side up to eighth in the table.
The Greek owner must stay away from Forest for the next four games to complete his suspension.