West Ham United manager David Moyes has called Arthur Masuaku's actions "despicable" and that the left-back should expect punishments from both the FA and the club.

The 24-year-old saw red in the 49th minute when he was adjudged to have spat at Latics forward Nick Powell on the side of the pitch as the Hammers crashed out 2-0 losers in the FA Cup fourth round tie to Wigan.

While Masuaku's spit came as a reaction to Powell's challenge, his manager Moyes wasted no time in condemning the Frenchman's act.

Punishment awaits

Speaking to SkySports, he said: "Ultimately, Arthur, what he's done, was despicable.

"He will deserve everything he gets and he will get something off us as well. It's unacceptable, totally unacceptable."

With spitting comes a mandatory six game ban, so the earliest Masuaku can expect to return is the middle of March.

The suspension leaves Moyes with a selection dilemma as eight senior players were already unavailable for this tie alone.

Nothing to protest

Despite his team going down to ten men, the Scotsman has no complaints with the way the referee reached his decision.

"The referee (Chris Kavanagh) doesn't see it and can't see it," he explained.

"So it was the players' reaction that got him sent off. Ultimately they got the right decision so I can have no qualms about it."

Huge blow

The full-back has arguably been the Hammers' best player and with recent murmurings coming from his agent saying that he is here to stay, the suspension will only conquer their Premier League chase for survival.

"We like him, he's a really good boy around the club," Moyes enthused.

"I've enjoyed him so I'd have to say it is out of character. If you do that then you're going to get the punishment in any walk of life.

"I just asked him, did he spit and he said, 'Yes'. You can't do that anywhere. We'll deal with it appropriately."

West Ham's first match without the defender is on Tuesday night as they host Crystal Palace in a bid to increase their four point gap on the relegation places.

Author's take

While Masuaku's spit was not the underlying factor to West Ham's FA Cup exit as the Hammers were woeful in all departments, it certainly didn't help.

It shows a sense of immaturity on the defender's part and something Moyes needs to eradicate from his game sooner rather than later.

He has the ability to become a key player alongside Manuel Lanzini and Marko Arnautovic, yet his consistency can let him down.

So, the six match ban is only going to tamper with his fitness and match sharpness going forward, let alone affect their fight for survival.