Papiss Cisse And Jonny Evans Charged By FA
Both men punished following St James' spitting...
The charges relate to an alleged breach of FA Rule E1 in that in or around the 38th minute of the game the two players spat at each other. The incidents were not seen by the match officials but caught on video. Both players have until 6pm on Friday 6 March 2015 to respond to the charge. In Premier League matches, if an incident has not been seen by the match officials, a three-man panel of former elite referees will be asked by The FA to review the footage independently of each other. They will then advise what, if any action, they believe the match referee should have taken had it been witnessed at the time. For an FA charge to follow, all three panel members must agree it is a sending-off offence. In this instance, the decision by the panel was unanimous in respect of both players.Both men are expected to be handed six game bans for their respective parts in the incident. However, The Magpies' number nine will be banned for an extra game because of a previous violent conduct ban for elbowing Evertons Seamus Coleman, ruling him out until the final three games of the season.