Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has lost his appeal against a five-match stadium ban.
The 57-year-old was found guilty of improper conduct for spitting on the floor as match officials passed by after Forest’s 1-0 Premier League loss to Fulham at the City Ground on September 28.
In its written rationale for the decision, the commission stated that there was “no excuse” for such “an egregious display of disrespectful behavior” that could “fuel disrespect towards match officials.”
Marinakis, who has already served three games of the ban, has denied the charge.
“An Appeal Board has dismissed an appeal by Nottingham Forest’s Evangelos Marinakis in relation to misconduct at their Premier League fixture on Saturday, 28 September against Fulham,” said the Football Association.
“It was alleged that the behaviour of Evangelos Marinakis around the tunnel area after full-time of that match was improper. He denied this charge, but it was found proven by an independent Regulatory Commission, and a five-match stadium/ground suspension was imposed.”
The incident took place after Forest, currently third in the Premier League, lost to Fulham due to a VAR-awarded penalty.
Referee Josh Smith, assistant referee James Mainwaring, and fourth official Tim Robinson provided written statements indicating that they witnessed Marinakis spitting on the floor in their direction as they headed to the dressing room.
In his defense, Marinakis asserted that he had a hacking cough due to smoking two or three cigars daily, claiming the incident was unintentional.
The commission dismissed this defense, noting that none of the officials’ statements mentioned coughing and that CCTV footage from the tunnel supported this claim.
They concluded that Marinakis “deliberately spat in a disrespectful and disgusting display of contempt towards the match officials.”
The commission determined that this was a serious case of misconduct that warranted a significant penalty to serve as a deterrent.
Marinakis contended that a ban from the tunnel and dressing room areas would be sufficient, but the commission disagreed, stating that he is not required in those areas after matches.
This punishment followed after head coach Nuno Espirito Santo received a three-game touchline ban for his reaction to Morgan Gibbs-White’s red card at Brighton in October. He already had a one-game suspended ban activated for comments made after Forest’s 2-0 loss to Everton in April.