Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was handed a five-match stadium ban after spitting on the floor as match officials passed by in the tunnel following the team’s 1-0 loss to Fulham in September.
As a result, Marinakis missed Forest’s recent home win against Crystal Palace, their first since April, and will also miss upcoming matches against Leicester, West Ham, Newcastle, and Arsenal.
The incident followed a contentious match where Fulham’s Raul Jimenez scored a penalty after an extended VAR review, and a second VAR decision denied Forest a penalty when Calvin Bassey appeared to foul Anthony Elanga in the box.
On October 22, an independent commission ruled Marinakis’ actions to be a “blatant display of disrespectful behavior,” which it argued “encourages disrespect toward match officials.” Marinakis defended himself, explaining the spitting was unintentional and due to a chronic cough caused by smoking cigars daily.
Earlier this month, Forest was fined £750,000 ($976,000) after a social media post last season was deemed by the Football Association to undermine “the integrity of a match official on an unparalleled scale.” The post implied the VAR official in a 2-0 loss to Everton was a supporter of relegation rival Luton after Forest was denied three penalties.
Forest’s manager, Nuno Espirito Santo, and vice-captain, Morgan Gibbs-White, also received suspensions after their red cards during a 2-2 draw with Brighton last month.