Victory believed referee Matthew Breeze made an error in his adjudication that the Brazilian spat at opponent Robert Cornthwaite and have lodged an 'Obvious error (red card) application' with FFA, as permitted under Disciplinary Regulations, clause 9.2.

The club said it had reviewed the broadcast footage from all angles and spoken to Ney Fabiano about the incident and believed he was wrongfully dismissed in the 29th minute.

But FFA's Match Review Panel upheld Breeze's decision and as the minimum sanction for spitting at a player is five matches plus the mandatory match suspension, the matter has been referred to the Disciplinary Committee for a hearing to be convened in Sydney on Wednesday.