Eagle Mitchell denies spitting allegation

West Coast midfielder Sam Mitchell has come under fire after vision emerged of him allegedly spitting in the direction of Port Adelaide's Sam Gray.

West Coast veteran Sam Mitchell strongly denies he spat in the direction of Port Adelaide's Sam Gray during Saturday night's elimination final win at Adelaide Oval.

Vision has emerged of spittle travelling from Mitchell's mouth towards the direction of a face down Gray late in the third quarter

Gray had just been awarded a free kick, and Mitchell was standing above him when the incident happened.

Mitchell hunched over, and shortly after a formed piece of saliva dribbled from his mouth onto the turf - only narrowly missing Gray.

Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes described Mitchell's actions as "ordinary".

Former Western Bulldogs and Richmond forward Nathan Brown said Mitchell could have copped a suspension if the saliva had made contact with Gray.

West Coast released a statement on Sunday night about the allegations.

"The West Coast Eagles and midfielder Sam Mitchell are extremely disappointed about media reports suggesting that the decorated veteran spat at or in the direction of Port Adelaide forward Sam Gray in the elimination final on Saturday night," the statement read.

"Both the club and Sam strongly refute any such suggestion or allegation."

Mitchell has played a key role for the Eagles since crossing from Hawthorn at the end of last year.

The 34-year-old has already announced he'll retire at season's end, and he looms as a key figure in Saturday night's semi-final clash with GWS in Sydney.


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world