marco silva Doesn’t expect Aleksandar Mitrovic to take a long penalty after the striker tries to hold the referee Chris Kavanagh during the five-minute frenzy Fulham Their chances of reaching the FA Cup semi-finals.
Fulham was ahead Manchester United 1-0 in the last eight at Old Trafford, with just over 20 minutes left, Willian blocked a goal jadon sancho He shot at the line with his arm.
Kavanagh initially signaled for the corner, but VAR was sent to the screen by Neil Swarbrick, removing the protester Silva from the game.
After the inevitable penalty decision and Willian’s red card, Fulham’s striker Mitrovic was furious at Kavanagh and tried to pull him back from his arm – there were only 40 seconds between three send-offs.
Two minutes before Marcel Sabitzer’s first United goal completed the comeback, Bruno Fernandes scored from the penalty spot, United penalized Fulham’s meltdown, and Fernandes finished in a 3-1 win in stoppage time.
Fulham’s loss of discipline could hurt their efforts to reach Europe via the Premier League and is sure to follow, but Silva doesn’t expect anything out of the ordinary for Mitrovic despite footage of him catching Kavanagh, a referee Fulham has already complained about. this season.
Paolo Di Canio was suspended for 11 games for pushing Paul Alcock to the ground in 1998, but Mitrovic’s grab was far less dramatic.
“I don’t think so,” Silva said of a possible long-term ban. “Of course I saw the footage and already talked to Mitro. It’s a moment for him to control his emotions.
“Of course he pushed the referee, but I didn’t see it as bad as you said, so I hope the decision makers decide with the justice that the moment deserves.”
Silva’s ability to teach any lesson in discipline was limited as he was the first to see the red, he apologized in the locker room for this fact, but continued to complain about Kavanagh after the match.
At Old Trafford, Fulham had sought two halftime penalties, including Mitrovic, who both felt pushed early by Luke Shaw before mingling with Lisandro Martinez soon after.
But complaints go back even further, with Fulham’s 3-1 loss at West Ham in October when Hammers felt that two of their goals were handball-related, and Fulham’s 2-0 FA Cup win over Leeds last month, Kavanagh’s Until they turned down a Fulham goal for Fulham. soft foul.
Silva added: “Our story with Chris Kavanagh this season was really tough as a football club. We didn’t tell the players anything before the game, the FA Cup is the quarter-finals, let’s try our best to play the semi-finals in the FA Cup.
“That was our goal and I think we showed it in the 75th minute, but they also know that when we lost at West Ham by two clear handball goals, he was the referee of that game, Chris Kavanagh was at that moment. Everyone saw what happened this afternoon…
“Of course we must always control our emotions, but we are human.”
As Fulham calculates the cost, United will face Brighton at Wembley in hopes of lifting the FA Cup for the 13th time and adding it to the League Cup won last month.
United were second best on the balance of the game before the penalty incident and while Erik ten Hag is happy with the result, he knows that his side can play better.
“I’m happy and satisfied with the performance, but I see a lot of room for improvement,” he said. “There was an example at the ball today, we have to show more composure, recognize where the overload is and use that overload.
“There were some good examples today where we could definitely do better on offensive passes.”