answer from the FA
spitting incident was not decided when i was sent this
Dear Sir/Madam
Thank you for contacting the Football Association.
As you mention, where the match officials have seen an incident it is considered to have been ‘refereed’ and therefore no retrospective action can be taken except for a case of exceptional circumstance. As a result, there is no requirement to review the incident, again, unless it is an exceptional incident.
The FA is only able to take any retrospective action on incidents not seen by the Match Officials which occur on the field of play and fall within Law 12 [serious foul play, violent conduct, spitting at an opponent or any other person, offensive, insulting or abusive language or gestures]. The FA may charge a player for committing an offence on the field of play within Law 12, not seen by Match Officials, but caught on video.
With regards to incident you refer to concerning spitting the FA are looking into this matter.
Kind regards
Simon Bower | Customer Relations