<
>

Arthur Masuaku sorry after spitting dismissal in West Ham FA Cup defeat

West Ham defender Arthur Masuaku has issued an apology after he was sent off for spitting during Saturday's FA Cup defeat at Wigan.

Masuaku, 24, was dismissed after spitting at Latics forward at Nick Powell during his side's 2-0 loss.

Manager David Moyes said Masuaku, signed from Olympiakos in 2016, had not apologised immediately after the match at the DW Stadium and said the straight red card offence was "despicable."

But on Sunday Masuaku tweeted: "I want to say sorry for my actions yesterday -- I let down my teammates, the manager, coaches, board and the fans.

"I am very sad because the manager and coaches have put a lot of faith in me, but I will work hard to try and win that back.

"It was in the heat of the moment and out of character for me, but I know it was totally unacceptable and I will learn from the first red card of my career."

Moyes had said after the match: "Ultimately, Arthur, what he's done, was despicable.

"He will deserve everything he gets and he will get something off us as well. It's unacceptable, totally unacceptable.

"The referee [Chris Kavanagh] doesn't see it and can't see it. So it was the players' reaction that got him sent off.

"Ultimately they got the right decision so I can have no qualms about it."

Masuaku is now facing the prospect of a six-game ban, an outcome that would further deplete West Ham, who also lost Pedro Obiang to a suspected medial ligament injury at Wigan.