LONDON: Manchester United’s Jonny Evans and Newcastle’s Papiss Cisse and have been charged with spitting by the Football Association.

Cisse, 29, had earlier apologised for his part in the incident, which happened during Manchester United’s 1-0 win at Newcastle on Wednesday.

Defender Evans, 27, has denied deliberately spitting at Cisse.

Both players face a six-game ban if found guilty and have until 18:00 GMT on Friday to respond to the charge.

The FA said in a statement: “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. A three-man panel of former referees reviewed the footage on Thursday and agreed the players should have been sent off, prompting the FA to bring a charge.

Cisse had already issued a statement apologising for his role in the episode.

“I have apologies to make to a lot of people today,” the Senegal international said. “I reacted to something I found very unpleasant.”

He added he wanted to say sorry to his team-mates, to Newcastle supporters, to Evans and “to every football fan who saw the incident between myself and Jonny”.

“Sometimes it is hard not to react, particularly in the heat of the moment,” he said.

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