[imagesource:fulhamfc]
I don’t know much about football, but I know that an eight-game ban is not the usual.
That’s what Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic was given after aggressively pushing the referee, immediately receiving a straight red card for his actions on the field.
The striker was handed his punishment by the English Football Association (FA) after pushing ref Chris Kavanagh in his team’s bad-tempered FA Cup quarterfinal loss to Manchester United last month.
The FA stated that the standard three-match ban was “clearly insufficient” and is even seeking a longer punishment than the eight-game ban:
Aleksandar Mitrovic has been given an eight-match ban by the FA.
It comes after he pushed referee Chris Kavanagh in Fulham’s FA Cup loss to Manchester United. pic.twitter.com/J0fGZsWpEg
— Akinkunmi Dolapo Sporting Director (@sportingdirecto) April 4, 2023
ESPN has more:
The Serbia international’s dismissal came at the conclusion of a chaotic couple of minutes late in the second half, in which Willian was sent off for conceding a penalty for handling Jadon Sancho’s effort on the goalline before Fulham manager Marco Silva was also shown a red card for remonstrating with officials.
Silva has been charged with multiple misdemeanours, including improper conduct, improper behaviour and abusing match officials.
Official: Aleksandar Mitrović has been given an 8 match ban after his on field incident with the referee during Fulham’s FA Cup matchup with Man Utd.
It comes after he pushed referee Chris Kavanagh in Fulham’s FA Cup loss to Manchester United. pic.twitter.com/9jHN8npNmA
— EPLSL (@EPLSL) April 4, 2023
Meanwhile, Silva is asking for a more lenient approach to be taken with Mitrovic:
“I saw the image and I spoke with Mitro, it is a moment for him to control the emotions,” Silva said following the match. “He pushed the referee, but I did not see that in so bad, bad way like you are saying to me. But I hope the people who are going to decide [do so] with fairness.”
Silva has apologised for his regrettable actions, and so has Mitrovic, per the Guardian:
Mitrovic said: “I regret my actions that led to me being sent off. I allowed my frustration to get the better of me, and how I reacted was wrong. I was trying to get the referee’s attention, but I appreciate that I should not have put my hands on him and I understand why he showed me a red card, my first in-game sending off for Fulham and my first since the 2015-16 season.”
Fulham was leading 1-0 at the time thanks to a Mitrovic goal but went on to lose 3-1 at Old Trafford.
[source:espn]
