Diouf in new spitting row

Bolton's El-Hadji Diouf is at the centre of a new furore over an alleged spitting incident.

The Senegal international enjoyed a productive evening at St Andrews but now faces the possibility of having his performance overshadowed by another spitting row.

The incident occurred after Diouf had netted Bolton's opener, in a 2-1 win, with the player accused of spitting during his celebrations.

Birmingham supporters complained about the incident at half time and had statements taken by the club's stewards.

"Our steward reported the incident to Uriah Rennie at half-time but he said it was a club matter," said a City spokesman.

"He said it was up to us whether we wanted to take the matter further and as things stand at the moment we don't want to take it any further."

Diouf declined to comment on the incident, whilst referee, Rennie, took a similar line on the matter.

"I don't want to speak. I've got no view on it. Before I can speak to anyone, I need to get clarification from the Premier League," said Rennie.

It seems likely that video footage will be used by the FA in their evaluation of the incident, with Diouf having only just returned from a three game suspension after being caught spitting in the face of Portsmouth defender Arjen De Zeeuw.

Bolton boss Sam Allardyce dismissed an inquiry into the incident after the game as ''a stupid question'' and preferred to concentrate on the player's excellent performance as a lone striker.

Allardyce said: "He is going to get stick every game now and the only way he can answer that is by playing like he did at Birmingham.

"His overall contribution, running, holding the ball up and getting behind defences, was absolutely superb.

''We have found an ideal replacement for Kevin Davies, who might be out for a while."