Jonny Evans has been charged by the FA for spitting at Papiss Cisse and he has until tomorrow to respond. If he is found guilty, FA disciplinary guidelines say that he should be banned for six games, twice as long as a player guilty of violent conduct.
Evans released a statement this morning, before he was charged, protesting his innocence.
Having woken up this morning I am shocked to have seen the media coverage from last night’s match. I would like to make it clear that I did not spit at Papiss Cisse. I was totally unaware of any spitting incident and had assumed that the issue at the time was with the challenge and his attempted retaliation to the tackle from the floor. During the game Papiss Cisse and I spoke about the incident and it is clear by my reaction in the television footage that I was totally surprised by any suggestion of spitting. It is not in my character or in my nature to spit at anybody nor is it something I have ever done or would ever do. It is certainly not something that I did last night.
