Felipe Melo has been hit with a four-match ban and a €10,000 fine after being found guilty of spitting at Beşiktaş midfielder Oğuzhan Özyakup, formerly of Arsenal.
The incident happened during Galatasaray’s 2-1 victory over rivals Besiktas last Sunday and, despite the claims made by Özyakup, Melo denies spitting at the player and vice-president Ali Dürüst has criticised the ban.
“The punishment isn"t just," said Dürüst.
“Our player [Melo] did not spit at anyone, our legal team will be appealing the decision."
The former Juventus midfielder denied the claims made by Özyakup, saying there was no evidence of him doing this.
He said: “As God is my witness I did not spit at anyone, you can look at every single angle and zoom in as much as you want, there will be absolutely no footage of me spitting at anyone."
However, Özyakup is adament that the Brazilian spat at him.
“Melo spat at me," said Özyakup.
“Fernandes and Selçuk İnan were right next to me, they saw everything, I can"t understand how Melo can swear on his children that he didn"t."
Source: Turkish-Football.com
