Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic receives an eight-match ban by the FA after the incident with referee Chris Kavanagh during the FA Cup quarterfinal match against Manchester United.
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Aleksandar Mitrovic of Fulham has been handed an eight-game suspension for pushing referee Chris Kavanagh during their FA Cup loss to Manchester United. The Serbian attacker was given a three-game suspension for being sent off, three more for acting violently, and two more for using “improper, abusive, insulting, and threatening” language. A £75,000 punishment will also be imposed on him. Mitrovic’s suspension has already been served for one game, so he will be eligible for Fulham’s final three Premier League games of the year, the first of which is on May 13 against Southampton.
Read More: Fulham News: Coach Marco Silva and striker Aleksandar Mitrovic apologise after outburst
Following his red card, Fulham boss Marco Silva will serve a two-game suspension. In addition to being charged with improper conduct for reportedly hurling a water bottle in the assistant referee’s direction, Silva was also accused of misconduct for remarks he made in an interview after the FA Cup loss. After Mitrovic received a straight red card at Old Trafford, the Football Association declared that the standard sanction for his dismissal was clearly insufficient and an independent commission was set up.
During the international break, Mitrovic spoke to the media regarding the incident. He said, “I have been away with my national team and have had some time to reflect on the Manchester United match. As everyone knows, it was a very emotional one, in which the team gave everything on the pitch to try to reach the semi-final of the FA Cup. In the meantime, I would like to reiterate my regret that this happened.”
In the 70th minute of the tie, Manchester United launched a counter from a Fulham corner. Jadon Sancho received the ball and attempted a shot, but Willian stopped it on the line. A corner was given by referee Chris Kavanagh, but VAR reviewed the play for a possible handball. At the same time, Marco Silva left his technical area and abused the referee as he went to the pitch side monitor to examine the penalty incident. This resulted in a red card for Marco Silva.
After looking at the incident, the referee gave Willian a red card for the handball and a penalty to Manchester United. Because of this decision, Mitrovic confronted Kavanagh. Mitrovic yelled, abused, and pointed in the referee’s direction before pushing him violently. This led to the referee issuing a third red card in a short period. Due to this, Fulham played the rest of the game without a manager and with nine players on the pitch. The Red Devils did not let this opportunity pass and scored three goals in the final 15 minutes to win the match 3-1.
