October 23rd 2024.
Nottingham Forest owner, Evangelos Marinakis, has recently been handed a five-match stadium ban for improper conduct. The incident in question occurred on September 28th at the City Ground, where Forest were defeated 1-0 by Fulham. Match officials accused Marinakis of spitting on the floor as they walked past him in the tunnel after the game. However, Marinakis claims that this was not a deliberate act but rather a result of his chronic coughing caused by his cigar habit.
According to referee Josh Smith, as he walked past Marinakis in the tunnel, the owner spat on the floor next to his left foot. This was also witnessed by assistant referee James Mainwaring and fourth official Tim Robinson. Mainwaring stated that Marinakis did not say anything, but as they approached him, he spat on the ground. Robinson also confirmed that he witnessed Marinakis making a spitting motion as the match officials walked past him.
Nottingham Forest has since appealed the ban, arguing that Marinakis was simply coughing and accidentally released some fluid onto the floor near the officials. His defense stated that he was suffering from a severe cough on the day of the game and coughed on the floor out of necessity. Marinakis, who is known to smoke two to three cigars a day, often needs to cough or expectorate and accepts that this may have happened, but it was not aimed at the officials.
However, the independent panel did not accept this reasoning and found Marinakis guilty of deliberately spitting on the floor near the match officials. In their statement, they wrote that his attempt to explain and justify his actions was completely implausible. They also stated that there was no other reasonable explanation for his behavior and that it was a disrespectful and disgusting display of contempt towards the match officials.
The panel also noted that such behavior not only fuels disrespect towards match officials but is also unacceptable given Marinakis' position as the owner of the football club. They emphasized that his conduct was deserving of a serious punishment and that there was no excuse for it. This was not a heat-of-the-moment reaction to a decision on the field, but a deliberate act of disrespect. As a result, the charge against Marinakis was proven, and the five-match ban stands.
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