Marco Silva blames referee as Fulham lose their heads in Manchester United implosion
With his side winning 1-0 at Old Trafford, the Fulham manager, striker Aleksandar Mitrovic and Willian were all sent off the space of 40 seconds
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Marco Silva tried to blame referee Christopher Kavanagh for Fulham losing their heads after they got three red cards in their 3-1 defeat at Manchester United.
Willian was sent off for handball, Silva himself for dissent and scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic for shoving the official in the space of 40 seconds but while the Portuguese said Fulham needed to control their emotions better, he criticised the official.
He claimed he does not fear Mitrovic will face a lengthy ban as he said Fulham should have had a penalty and complained about Kavanagh’s performance in their October defeat to West Ham.
He said: “I know our story with Chris Kavanagh this season has been tough for us as a football club. I know as well the referee, we had that West Ham game away from home when we lost with two clear handball goals. We lost the game and it was Chris Kavanagh in that moment.”
Mitrovic had given Fulham the lead at Old Trafford but Silva added: “There were two moments in the box, in their box, that Mitro was involved, no one checked, no one cared about the situation. And that’s it. Unfortunately for us we have been very unlucky with Chris Kavanagh this season, many moments. It is difficult to understand some of the decisions.”
Silva claimed his own red car was not for anything he said, arguing: “If I got the red card for being out of my area and that is the reason for the referee to give me a red card, I have to accept it. Of course I said something in that moment to him. That was not something for him to give me a red card.
“I spoke with Mitro, it is a moment for him to control the emotions. He pushed the referee, but I did not see that in so bad bad way like you are saying. I hope the people who are going to decide [do so] with fairness.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments