Premier League OWNER is banned from stadiums for FIVE matches for 'improper conduct' in the tunnel after a 1-0 defeat

• Evangelos Marinakis was charged with misconduct after a 1-0 loss to Fulham
• The club have confirmed an appeal has been lodged against the decision
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Evangelos Marinakis has been hit with a five-match stadium ban for ‘improper conduct’ in the tunnel area after Nottingham Forest’s match with Fulham.

The Forest owner suffered the huge punishment on the same day boss Nuno Espirito Santo was banned for three matches and fined £55,000 for his behaviour in the 2-2 draw at Brighton last month.

Midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White was also handed a one-match ban and fined £20,000 for incidents in the same game.

An FA statement read: ‘Evangelos Marinakis was charged with misconduct following Nottingham Forest’s Premier League match against Fulham on September 28.

‘It was alleged his behaviour around the tunnel area after the final whistle was improper. He denied this charge, but it was found proven by the independent regulatory commission and a five-match stadium suspension has been imposed.’

Forest were already reeling from the £750,000 fine imposed on October 11 relating to an explosive social media post last April, that questioned the appointment of Stuart Attwell as VAR following their 2-0 defeat at Everton.

Forest denied they had questioned the integrity of officials or brought the game into disrepute. A club statement read: ‘An appeal has immediately been lodged against this decision in respect of both the liability and the sanction.’