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Nottingham Forest owner handed 5-game ban for misconduct

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has been handed a five-match stadium ban by the FA for misconduct.

Marinakis was charged for conduct following Forest's 1-0 defeat against Fulham on Sept. 28.

The FA summary said Marinakis was guilty of improper conduct around the tunnel area after the final whistle. Marinakis denied the charge but it was found proven by an independent regulatory commission.

It comes the same day as Forest manager Nuno Espírito Santo was hit with a three-match touchline ban and £55,000 fine for misconduct in Forest's 2-2 draw with Brighton in September.

The FA statement said Espírito Santo "acted in an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words towards a match official."

Espírito Santo was handed a two-match ban, but the misconduct activated a further one-match touchline ban from a previous suspended charge.

The Forest boss said he was surprised at the extent of the sanction, telling reporters: "There's nothing we can do. It's not for me to judge, my job is to move forward and make sure the coaching staff are ready to help the team.

"We had a hearing, everything was normal. The sanction has been decided. Let's go."

Midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White was also banned for a match and fined £20,000 after acting "in an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words towards the fourth official after being sent off" in the same match.

Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler was fined £8,000 for acting in an "improper manner."

Forest were hit with a £750,000 ($979,526) fine earlier in October over a social media post from last season that was aimed at video assistant referee Stuart Attwell.

Information from Reuters contributed to this report.