Spit Spat: Evans And Cisse Both Charged By FA

Papiss Cisse and Jonny Evans have both been charged by the Football Association after allegedly spitting at each other.

It follows an incident during the Premier League match between Newcastle and Manchester United at St James' Park on Wednesday night.

An FA statement read: "Newcastle United's Papiss Cisse and Manchester United's Jonny Evans have both been charged by the FA following their game yesterday.

"The charges are in relation to an alleged breach of FA Rule E1[a] 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."

Earlier, United defender Evans denied spitting at Cisse, who has accepted the FA charge after issuing an apology for his behaviour.

Newcastle managing director Lee Charnley said: "Both ourselves and Papiss agree that this kind of behaviour is not acceptable.

"In life, when you do something wrong you have to front up, admit your mistakes and accept the punishment."

The spitting incident followed a tangle between the players near the halfway line.

As they climbed to their feet, Evans seemed to spit towards the ground and Cisse appeared to react by spitting at the United defender's neck.

Referee Anthony Taylor did not take any action, but footage of the incident was reviewed by a three-man panel of former elite referees, who all agreed that both players should have been sent off.

In a statement on the United website, Evans said: "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.

Evans added: "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."

In a statement of his own, Cisse said: "I have apologies to make to a lot of people today. Firstly to my teammates and to our supporters, secondly to Jonny Evans, and thirdly to every football fan who saw the incident between myself and Jonny.

"I reacted to something I found very unpleasant. Sometimes it is hard not to react, particularly in the heat of the moment. I have always tried hard to be positive a role model, especially for our young fans, and yesterday I let you down."

Both managers were reluctant to discuss the incident afterwards, with United's Louis van Gaal saying: "We were on the bench and you cannot see from there."

Evans and Cisse could each face six-game bans if found guilty under new disciplinary guidelines brought in this season.

United won the game 1-0 thanks to an 89th minute strike from Ashley Young.