Sky Sports pundit Alan McInally believes spitting should carry a mandatory ban of 10 games.
The issue has come into sharp focus after a clash between Manchester United defender Jonny Evans and Newcastle striker Papiss Cisse during United's 1-0 win at St James' Park on Wednesday.
Following a tackle and what appeared to be a kick-out from Cisse, the pair appeared to aim spit at each other in an incident now being investigated by the Football Association, while Newcastle are looking at a situation earlier in the game in which Evans appeared to spit close to Emmanuel Riviere.
Should they be found guilty of spitting, Evans would be automatically suspended for six games while Cisse's ban would last for seven due to a prior charge of violent conduct - but McInally suggests the punishments could be firmer.
The Scot told Sky Sports News HQ: "It shouldn't be in the game. I don't think it's a problem but guys can't spit on each other. Maybe six games is not enough. It's a deterrent because you get banned for six but maybe you'd think 'that's alright'.
"Maybe you should make it 10 games - that's two-and-a-half months and that's a long time out of the game and for your club to be paying you. They aren't going to be happy.
"If you get tackled and somebody injures you, I think you take it. If somebody spits on you, as a footballer player, that's not happening."
Alan McInally
"If you get tackled and somebody injures you, I think you take it. If somebody spits on you, as a footballer player, that's not happening.
"You'd rather get somebody tackling you and get injured than you get up after falling down together and somebody spits on you, so maybe six games isn't enough. If you give them 10 games, they take the wrath of their football club."
Isolated incident
While McInally takes a dim view of the issue, he is confident it is an isolated incident.
The former Celtic, Aston Villa and Bayern Munich striker added: "I don't think it's a problem in the game to be fair. You see it every now and again. It's still 'alleged'.
"You hear the manager saying you can't believe that his player would do it. They come together and then it comes right there.
"Children grow up, go out and want to follow their heroes and you don't want youngsters going out and spitting on each other. It's not part of the game."
Rachel Yankey
"I can't remember Jonny Evans being involved in too much with anything. Obviously Cisse has got his hand to his face and said 'he spat on me'.
"You can't really see it conclusively - maybe my eyes are going! I can't see it but it's a bad thing. If it's been done, it deserves six matches all day long.
"It only happened to me once, during a winter break with Bayern Munich when we were in Mexico. Someone spat on me and I wasn't that happy."
England Women's forward Rachel Yankey agreed there is no place in the game for spitting, adding: "Six or seven games is a big ban and it should be because they are role models to young kids. You don't want the young kids growing up spitting on each other.
"These kids grow up, go out and want to follow their heroes and you don't want youngsters going out and spitting on each other because it's not part of the game."
