Fulham manager Marco Silva calls out Man Utd player Bruno Fernandes called in dig at the FA
Marco Silva, the manager of Fulham, has made a sly remark about Bruno Fernandes, a player for Manchester United, who was not disciplined despite touching an assistant referee.
In contrast, Silva’s team may be without their striker Aleksandar Mitrovic for a minimum of three games following his push on referee Chris Kavanagh.
Mitrovic was sent off for aggressive behavior as he pushed Kavanagh twice and yelled at him during Fulham’s loss to United in the FA Cup. He has been given a three-game suspension, but there is a possibility that his ban could be extended.
Silva, the head coach of Fulham, has requested the referee to consider the fact that Fernandes appeared to push an assistant referee during United’s 7-0 loss to Liverpool earlier this month, but was not punished.
Asked about Mitrovic’s ban, Silva – who was also red-carded in the ill-tempered cup clash – said: “I respect the rules and that’s it. I’m not the right person to say how many games.
“It depends how they see it. Because it’s not so strict, that the people touch an official should get three games or more. It’s not so.
“A couple of weeks ago we had a good example and not even a booking. You know the example that I am talking about.
“He (Fernandes) was not even booked… About the moment with ourselves, we regret. Mitro will learn and to improve.”
According to Referees’ charity Ref Support, they anticipate a ban of at least six matches for Mitrovic. This is happening at a time when there is an increasing amount of mistreatment towards officials at a grassroots level.
“We’re asking for at least a six-game ban here,” Ref Support CEO Martin Cassidy said. “That’s the sort of thing you see in a grassroots game in Argentina – not the top-flight and in the most prestigious cup competition in the world. If people think they can behave like that in a top-flight arena, what chance has the grassroots referee got?”
Cassidy is urging the FA to provide greater support for referees at the highest level, as the problem of abuse is spreading from top-tier games to lower divisions and grassroots matches. He has cautioned that if the governing body doesn’t take action to address the issue, a referee could be killed.
“We’re really worried that if the FA don’t send strong messages out, that it’s going to get replicated and a referee is going to be murdered. That’s something where I’m dreading the day it happens,” Cassidy added.
“I don’t know anyone that doesn’t think that this will keep escalating until a referee is murdered. The whole game at all levels needs to address it.
“The first great step, and this is really positive, is that the FA look like they are trying to get a grip of it at grassroots with the body-cam pilots. What are they going to do at top-flight level?”
Fulham manager Marco Silva calls out Man Utd player Bruno Fernandes called in dig at the FA
