Jonny Evans and Papiss Cisse got into it during Manchester United’s win on Wednesday.
Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal insisted he could not imagine defender Jonny Evans spitting at a fellow professional after his side’s dramatic Premier League victory at Newcastle.
Ashley Young’s 89th-minute strike snatched a 1-0 win for the visitors which keeps them on course for a top-four finish, but the game was marred by a first-half fracas between Northern Ireland international Evans and the Magpies’ Senegal frontman Papiss Cisse, with television replays suggesting both men spat as tempers flared.
Newcastle United
Manchester United
FT
Neither Van Gaal nor opposite number John Carver saw the incident, which happened behind referee Anthony Taylor’s back and seems certain to be examined by Football Association disciplinary chiefs, but the Dutchman was quick to defend his player.
He said: “I didn’t see that from the bench. It’s too far to see spitting, so I cannot judge that. But I cannot imagine that Jonny Evans, because he is a very modest person, that he could do that. I cannot imagine.”
Newcastle head coach Carver admitted he was unaware of the details of the incident until asked about it in a post-match television interview.
He said: “I am aware of it now because the guys on TV have just made me aware of it. I genuinely haven’t seen the incident. I just saw a fracas on the halfway line between the two players and the referee spoke to them. That’s all I have seen.
“As far as I am concerned, I need to have a look at it.”