Diouf receives fine over spitting incident

BOLTON striker El Hadji Diouf has been fined £500 (€735) and ordered to pay the same amount in costs after pleading guilty to a charge of reckless behaviour, stemming from a spitting incident with an 11-year-old fan.

The Senegal international was charged after Middlesbrough supporter James Shields claimed he was hit by juice the player spat from his mouth after he had been substituted in the 1-1 draw at the Riverside Stadium last November.

His case had been due to go to trial next month, but solicitor Alan Walsh, in Diouf’s absence, entered a guilty plea on his client’s behalf at Teesside Magistrates’ Court yesterday.