I need to be more careful over spitting, says Evans

Manchester United defender Jonny Evans has reiterated he did not mean to spit at Newcastle United striker Papiss Cisse, but admitted he will need to be careful in future.

Evans was handed a six-match ban after appearing to spit at Cisse earlier this month during a Premier League clash at St James’ Park, with the Senegal international receiving a seven-match suspension for retaliating in the same fashion.

While Cisse was quick to apologise for his actions, Evans has always maintained his innocence.

And he told Sky Sports News: “I’ve got the ban, I’ve just got to accept it and move on from it now.

“I said that [he did not intend to spit] in my statement, I said that to the FA. It wasn’t until I’ve seen the incident on the pitch that I realised how it looked.

“It was a misunderstanding between me and Cisse. I have sympathy for Cisse. It’s unfortunate that both of us got a ban.

“In the future I will try and think more carefully about when I do spit. I was unaware of it at the time so that may be a bit difficult.”