PHILADELPHIA — Jalen Carter made the wrong kind of headlines on Thursday night when the Eagles star defensive tackle was ejected for spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

Now, we’ve heard from the referee who flagged and tossed Carter.

Shawn Smith, the NFL’s head referee of the Eagles-Cowboys game, spoke to a PFWA pool reporter during the hour-long lightning delay about Carter’s ejection.

Here’s how that brief conversation went.

Question: What did you observe that led to the disqualification?

Smith: “One of the officials observed him spitting on an opponent.”

Question: Why did that rise to the level of disqualification as opposed to a different penalty?

Smith: “It’s a disqualifiable foul in the game. It’s a non-football act.”

Here is Jalen Carter spitting on Dak Presco

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