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Milan club defender Walter Samuel has been punished with a three-game suspension for spitting at Pavel Nedved during the Italian Super Cup match.
After reviewing the video footage of the spitting incident, the Italian league's disciplinary committee immediately handed a punishment to Inter defender, meaning he will miss the first three Serie A matches against Treviso, Palermo, and Lecce.
Inter is reportedly preparing to appeal the decision, as Samuel himself defended by saying he did not intend to spit at his opponent: "I think this incident is fabricated, as I spat on the ground. I have never in my life spat at an opponent. At that time we were talking among ourselves, and I certainly did not spit at Nedved."
These matches were the official debut for the Argentine in the Milan club, as he joined the team from Real Madrid this summer. Earlier in his career, Samuel has played for Newell's Old Boys, Boca Juniors, and Roma.
Players competing in Italy have often been infamous for scandals related to spitting. Former Lazio player and current teammate of Samuel, Siniša Mihajlovič, was also punished for spitting at Adrian Mutu from Chelsea during a Champions League match.
One of Italy's national team leaders, Francesco Totti, who played alongside Samuel at Roma for four years, was also punished for spitting at Christian Poulsen from the Danish national team during the European Championship in Portugal.
