Nottingham Forest owner accused of 'spitting' at referee and blames smoking cigars

owner, Evangelos Marinakis, has been accused of spitting at an official, a claim he vehemently denies, stating that he was merely coughing due to his cigar-smoking habit.

The Greek tycoon has been slapped with a five-match ban following his behaviour after Forest's recent defeat to . Marinakis and the Nottingham club have had a history of disputes over refereeing decisions, having been on the receiving end of several contentious calls.

In response to his ban, Marinakis lodged an appeal, arguing that he spat to the side of the officials, not directly at them.

However, an independent commission dismissed Marinakis' explanation as "completely implausible", labelling his conduct as "disrespectful and disgusting".

Marinakis informed the commission that he was suffering from "a hacking cough" on the day of the Fulham match and was using lozenges to soothe it.

The written reasons revealed that Marinakis "smokes two or three cigars a day. He often needs to expectorate and/or coughs. As the officials approached he felt a cough coming and he coughed on the floor, down and to his right which was away from the path the officials were taking. He did not speak to the officials."

On Tuesday, the commission released its findings, stating: "We are satisfied that he deliberately spat on the floor as the referee walked past him. Regrettably, we regard EM's (Marinakis') attempt to explain and justify his conduct as completely implausible"

"The only reasonable inference we can draw from our rejection of EM's explanation for the spit is that EM deliberately spat in a disrespectful and disgusting display of contempt towards the match officials. In our view, there is no other credible explanation for his conduct. In the circumstances, it clearly amounts to conduct within the meaning of Rule E3. Consequently, we found the (FA) charge proven.

"An egregious display of disrespectful behaviour such as this fuels disrespect towards match officials. This was not conduct triggered in the heat of the moment as a result of a decision on the field. There is no excuse for it EM's position as the owner of the football club aggravates the sanction. His conduct was entirely unacceptable and deserving of a serious punishment."

Forest have already found themselves in trouble this season. Manager Nuno Espirito Santo received a three-match ban and a £55,000 fine for his behaviour following the 2-2 draw at last month.

Morgan Gibbs-White also received a one-match ban and a £20,000 fine for incidents in the same game.

The club was also slapped with a hefty £750,000 fine by an independent commission on October 11. This was due to a social media post last April, where the club questioned the appointment of Stuart Attwell as VAR following their 3-0 defeat at .

Forest denied they had questioned the integrity of officials or brought the game into disrepute.