Aleksandar Mitrovic banned for EIGHT MATCHES and Marco Silva two… but FA want harsher sanctions

The FA is planning to appeal Aleksandar Mitrovic’s suspension of eight matches and Marco Silva‘s two-match touchline ban for their furious clash with referee Chris Kavanagh at Old Trafford last month and call for longer sanctions.

During Fulham’s FA Cup quarter-final tie against Manchester United on March 19, Willian, Mitrovic and Silva were all given their marching orders by Kavanagh in what turned into a crazy 40-second spell at Old Trafford.

After Willian was brandished a red card for blocking a ball on the line with his hand, all hell broke loose as Mitrovic and Silva angrily protested the decision. All three were sent off before Fulham went on to suffer a 3-1 defeat and crash out of the competition.

Mitrovic, who was shown a red himself for putting hands on Kavanagh and shoving the referee, served the first match of his ban this weekend as Fulham lost 2-1 to relegation-threatened Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium. He is now set to watch another seven outings from the stands following the FA’s decision on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Silva admitted to using abusive words and gestures towards the fourth official ahead of his sending-off at Old Trafford and has subsequently been banned from the dugout ahead of Fulham’s league matches against West Ham and Everton.

The FA is planning to appeal Aleksandar Mitrovic’s suspension of eight matches and Marco Silva ‘s two-match touchline ban for their furious clash with referee Chris Kavanagh 

Mitrovic was sent off for his protests towards Kavanagh during Fulham’s defeat at Man United

Silva was also given his marching orders on the day for reacting furiously on the touchline

The manager, who denied throwing a water bottle in the direction of the assistant referee, has also racked up a fine worth £20,000.

Mitrovic and Silva’s suspensions and fines were handed out by an independent commission, but on Tuesday the FA announced its plans to appeal the chosen sanctions, seemingly indicating they are not long enough.

‘We note the decision of the independent Regulatory Commission to sanction Aleksandar Mitrovic and Marco Silva,’ an FA statement reads.

‘Our current intention is to appeal both sanctions, however we will await the written reasons before confirming our final position.’ 

The FA has not been afraid to challenge its own independent panel in the past, with English football’s governing body publicly opposing their ruling that disgraced former Crawley Town manager John Yems was not a ‘conscious racist’ back in January.

Within the written reasons, the independent regulatory commission said Yems is not a ‘conscious racist’, a verdict which sparked outrage across the football community given the nature of the slurs made towards his players at Crawley, which were uncovered by Sportsmail last April.

The FA therefore disagreed with the resolution of their own independent panel and began seeking legal advice ahead of a possible appeal. The organisation also felt the 18-month ban meted out to Yems was too lenient. 

As well as apologising for his Old Trafford outburst, Mitrovic has also volunteered to accept a club fine over the altercation with Kavanagh and said sorry to his team-mates for letting them down. Silva adds that he would have no problem with Kavanagh overseeing another Fulham game.

The FA is opposing the verdict of its independent panel, just as it did after they concluded disgraced former Crawley boss John Yems was ‘not a conscious racist’ in January 

In the FA’s statement confirming their sanctions, the Fulham boss is said to have admitted to using ‘abusive and insulting words, gestures and behaviour’ towards the match referee and fourth official. But he denied throwing a water bottle in the direction of the assistant referee and that his behaviour was ‘improper’.

Silva also conceded his post-match comments constituted improper conduct as they ‘imply bias, question the integrity of the match official, and bring the game into disrepute’.

The independent panel claimed the standard punishment for violent conduct was insufficient in Mitrovic’s case, which the player denied, but after this appeal was upheld a further five matches were added onto his standard three-match ban for the red card offence.

Speaking on Wednesday, Serbia striker Mitrovic 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 absolutely everything on the pitch to try to reach the semi final of the FA Cup.

‘On a personal level, 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.

Mitrovic has since volunteered to accept a club fine over the altercation with Kavanagh

Silva insists he would have no problem with Kavanagh overseeing another Fulham game

‘I have accepted the three-match ban for my red card, I have spoken to Chris Kavanagh to apologise, and I have volunteered to accept a Club fine. I now want to do what I can to put this incident behind me and get back to helping my teammates on the pitch as soon as possible.

‘In the meantime, I would like to reiterate my regret that this happened. I have already said sorry to my team-mates, but I would also like to apologise to the Fulham fans, particularly those who travelled to Old Trafford to support us and who did not stop singing all game. I hope to be back soon and repay their faith and support.’

Silva added: ‘Emotions were high at Old Trafford and, as I said in my press conference after the game, I should have controlled my own emotions better. It was a very difficult moment, in a match that we had dominated, but I could have handled the situation better.

‘I regret what happened, and I have spoken to Chris Kavanagh to apologise. He knows that I respect him and the job he has to do. Unfortunately, we did not see eye-to-eye on the day, but I recognise that he is one of the top referees in this country and I know that, when our paths cross again, there will be mutual respect between us.

‘I am sorry that I was not on the pitch to try to lead the team to what could have been an historic FA Cup Semi-Final at Wembley, but I am thankful for all the support I have received from Fulham fans over the last few days.’