FA Slams 8-match Ban On Mitrovic For Pushing Referee

Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic has been banned for eight games by the English Football Association (FA) after pushing referee Chris Kavanagh in his team’s ill-tempered FA Cup quarterfinal loss to Manchester United last month.

Mitrovic received a straight red card for his actions, but the FA previously said that the standard three-match ban was “clearly insufficient” on this occasion.

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.

Fulham, who were leading 1-0 at the time thanks to a Mitrovic goal, went on to lose 3-1 at Old Trafford.

Former Sheffield Wednesday forward Paulo Di Canio was banned for 11 games after shoving referee Paul Alcock to the ground during a Premier League match in 1998.

Silva, though, had called 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.”

Mitrovic has scored 11 goals in 21 Premier League games for Fulham this season, playing a key role in their unexpected challenge for a European place.