GORAN POPOV should be ashamed of himself.
Spitting is the worst and lowest form of foul play in football. It’s just horrible.
You have to take the fact you could get ‘topped’ with a strong challenge occasionally, that you will get an elbow and a head put on you, and that you’ll get a few whacks.
That’s the sport. But you do not expect to be spat at, as West Bromwich Albion’s Popov (right) did to Kyle Walker of Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend.
Popov had to be sent off. And, in some respects, this is where the PFA have got things wrong.
The most a club can fine a player is two weeks’ wages. But Popov should be hit for at least six weeks’ worth.
Diving, and players making the most of receiving the slightest of touches, are blights on the modern game. Shirt-pulling has always happened but not to the extent it does now. But there is simply no room and no need for spitting.
