Newcastle United striker Papiss Cisse faces a seven-match ban after accepting a Football Association charge of spitting. Having already been suspended for violent conduct earlier in December – for elbowing Everton defender Séamus Colema – the Senegalese star is now likely to be unavailable for the Magpies until May 9.
The charge arose out of Newcastle's game against Manchester United on Wednesday evening when pictures appeared to show Cisse spitting at United defender Jonny Evans.
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The Northern Ireland international added that he 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".
Evans ended his statement by assuring his fans that spitting "is not in my character or in my nature…[and] is certainly not something that I did last night."
Shortly after Evans' comments, Cisse also went public but in his case it was to confess his guilt.
"I have apologies to make to a lot of people today," he said in a statement published on the Magpies' official site. "Firstly to my team-mates and to our supporters, secondly to Jonny Evans, and thirdly to every football fan who saw the incident between myself and Jonny.
"I hope children out there playing football for their clubs and schools this weekend will know better than to retaliate when they are angry. Perhaps when they see the problem it now causes me and my team they will be able to learn from my mistake, not copy it."
Cisse didn't specify why he retaliated, only that it was because of something he "found very unpleasant".
The Football Association then confirmed that the pair had been charged in relation to the fracas and were given 24 hours to respond. Cisse did so within a couple of hours, admitting his guilt and accepting whatever punishment the FA decide to impose.
He was supported by his club with Newcastle's managing director, Lee Charnley, saying: "In life, when you do something wrong you have to front up, admit your mistakes and accept the punishment… Both ourselves and Papiss agree that this kind of behaviour is not acceptable."
Charnley added that Cisse intended to atone for his actions during his suspension. "He has this evening expressed to us his strong desire to engage in additional community activities during the period of his ban," explained Charnley. "He is particularly keen to use his position as a role model to encourage young and influential fans to engage in sport and learn lessons about the importance of fair play and personal conduct."
Evans has yet to respond to the charge.