On December 21, during a 2-1 defeat to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, he spat at opponent Chris Mepham in the 74th minute. Sainz is now the Championship’s leading scorer, with 15 goals for the Canaries this season, but he will have no opportunities to improve his scoring stats over the following six games. It went overlooked by match officials at the time, and he helped Norwich win three of their next four games, despite being charged by the FA later on. After his punishment was announced, Sainz issued a statement apologising and accepting ‘full responsibility’ for his acts, which he ‘truly regrets’.

“Spitting at an opponent is completely out of character for me, and my reaction in that moment was unacceptable,” said Sainz.

“I’d like to apologise directly to the opposition player, Chris Mepham, for my actions. “In addition, I apologise to my teammates, our coaching staff, and our fans. I am terribly disappointed in myself and for letting you all down with my actions.” The FA accusation read as follows: “Norwich City’s Borja Sainz has been suspended for six matches and fined £12,000 for violating FA Rule E1.1 during their EFL Championship match against Sunderland on Saturday, December 21, 2024.” The forward was accused of spitting at an opponent in the 74th minute of the match, which resulted in his dismissal. “Borja Sainz admitted the charge and his sanctions were subsequently imposed by an independent regulatory commission.”

Deeney was unimpressed with the Spanish forward, labelling him “the lowest of the low” on talkSPORT. “It’s nasty; spitting on someone is the lowest of lows. I’m annoyed by his statement, though; that’s not you, that’s someone else,” the former Watford captain stated. “It begins with my heartfelt apologies. Someone else wrote it. Apologising through multiple channels is a common practice in public relations.If you’ve spat on someone, be man enough to call them and say ‘l sorry’; don’t do it on social media.”

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