How long West Ham's Taty Castellanos will be banned for if Millwall allegation is proven | OneFootball

The West Ham forward could be on for a lengthy ban, should the allegations made by the Millwall goalkeeper Filip Marschall be substantiated.

The East London derby between Millwall and West Ham United was as feisty as everyone expected it would be, but the match is now threatened to be overshadowed by an incident that could have far-reaching consequences.

It was the first time that the two London rivals had met in fifteen seasons, and those who were expecting a feisty Saturday lunchtime just south of the River Thames certainly weren't disappointed by what they saw. Millwall and West Ham United ended up drawing their eagerly-awaited meeting 2-2, with West Ham coming back from two goals down to salvage a point and a controversial late red card thrown into the bargain.

But the match now threatens to be overshadowed by another incident that took place during the match. The Millwall goalkeeper Filip Marschall has alleged that the West Ham forward Taty Castellanos spat at him during the second half, and Castellanos could be looking at a lengthy spell on the touchline if the case is proven.

Taty Castellanos could face a six-game ban if Filip Marschall allegation is proven

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The alleged incident that is threatening to overshadow the match took place in the 65th minute, with Millwall at that time leading 2-0 thanks to first half goals scored by Caleb Taylor and Camiel Neghli.

Filip Marschall was picking up a fairly routine ball with Castellanos pressuring him to pick it up and get on with the game, but as he did so the goalkeeper ran to referee Paul Tierney, clearly very unhappy at something that had happened, gesturing towards his head and apparently wiping something from his hair with his shirt.

Television camera footage of the incident was inconclusive. After the match, however, the Millwall manager Alex Neil said of the incident that, "I’d be extremely surprised if Filip’s made an accusation and nothing has happened." The West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo, meanwhile, said of the allegtation that, "I didn’t see the images, I didn’t speak with Taty," and that, "for me to answer that, I have to see it - and I’m going to look at the images."

The allegation made was that Castellanos spat at Marschall, and the matter will now be investigated by the EFL. If found guilty of having done this, Castellanos would, according to reports in The Sun, be facing a six-game ban for having done so.

What fans are saying about Saturday's spitting incident

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This incident has triggered a huge amount of online conjecture, so here's a sample what's being said about it.

This West Ham fans feels that the case is closed because the video footage is inconclusive, and that Marschall should be banned instead:

Photographs showing Castellanos spitting during the match have been circulating online, but Mail journalist James Sharpe has reported that West Ham believe these to have been from a completely different phase of play, and therefore not relevant to this case:

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Spitting at an opposition player has historically carried heavy penalties for those accused of having done so. In December 2025, the Burnley midfielder Hannibal Mejbri was given a four-match ban and a £15,000 fine after being found to have spat at Leeds United fans during a Premier League match between the two sides.

This wasn't the biggest ban that a player has received for such an incident over the last couple of years, either. In January 2025, the Norwich City striker Borja Sainz was banned for six matches and fined £12,000 after having been found to have spat at Sunderland's Chris Mepham during a Championship match the previous month. Sainz subsequently said that he took "full responsibility" and "deeply regrets" what he did.

A six-game tariff has been the mandatory one for spitting at another player for a long time, now. The minimum ban was increased from four matches to six in 2016 to align the FA with FIFA - who categorise it as "physical or aggressive behaviour" - and it has long been considered one of the most reviled actions that a player can take against a fellow professional.

Part of the reason for this is medical. In 2009, in the midst of a swine flu epidemic, the Health Protection Agency issued guidance that players should stop spitting on the pitch completely, stating that the habit "could increase the risk of passing on infections".

But the abhorrence felt over spitting runs deeper than concerns about passing on infections alone. It triggers a deep-seated level of disgust which is hard-wired into us. According to a 2024 article on the psychology website Neurolaunch: "When someone spits on you, they’re not just expressing anger, they’re deploying disgust as a weapon. Psychologically, spitting communicates a message that goes beyond "I’m furious with you." It says, "You are beneath me, you are contaminated, you are less than human." That distinction matters enormously for understanding why this act cuts so deep."

The footage seen by viewers on Saturday lunchtime was inconclusive, and it will now be down to the governing bodies to examine the matter further. There may be further viewing angles which have not been shown which show more clearly what happened. But one thing is for certain. If Taty Castellanos is found to have spat at Filip Marschall during Saturday's derby, he will likely find that he pays a heavy price for having done so.