Marco Silva lashed out at referee Chris Kavanagh after Fulham were shown three red cards in a span of 40 seconds at Old Trafford.
Silva’s side were 20 minutes away from a place in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, but the tie was turned around when Manchester United came back from a goal down to win 3-1 against nine men playing without a manager. .
Fulham boss Silva was the first to confront Kavanagh as he approached the pitchside monitor to review an incident in which Willian touched Jadon Sancho’s shot in the penalty area.
As Kavanagh drew another red card for Willian and signaled for the penalty spot, furious Fulham goalscorer Aleksandar Mitrovic manhandled the referee as the situation threatened to get out of hand.
The Serb was sent off as his teammates huddled together, some to protest with Kavanagh and others to prevent Mitrovic from doing further damage.
Marco Silva criticized referee Chris Kavanagh after Fulham’s 3-1 loss to Man United
Silva (right) was sent to the stands after being sent off for colliding with the referees
Aleksandar Mitrovic and Willian were also sent off during the match as Fulham were knocked out of the FA Cup.
His was by far the most serious offense and will surely be investigated by the FA with the threat of a long ban.
However, Silva was still furious after Kavanagh was allowed to take charge of the match after upsetting Fulham with his decisions in their games against West Ham in the Premier League and Leeds in the FA Cup this season.
“It’s hard for us to understand,” Silva said. “Unfortunately for us, we’ve had a lot of bad luck with Chris Kavanagh this season, a lot of times.
Chris was in a game we played away from home at West Ham where we lost with two fair balls. We apologize for the errors. The last game in Leeds in the FA Cup was him again. And for a game that is the quarterfinals, it is him again.
Silva was also not happy that VAR did not intervene when Fulham called an early penalty for Luke Shaw’s tackle on Mitrovic, suggesting that the referees caved to the pressure.
“These are the first moments of the game, it is a clear penalty for Mitro,” he added. Luke Shaw pushed Mitro. The referee is in a position to see, the VAR in the safe office of him. Nobody checks, doesn’t see, nobody wants to see it.
It cannot be in the quarterfinals and the two teams have to have the same conditions.
‘There is pressure to play against United at Old Trafford. The referee sometimes feels the pressure because they are here. It’s really hard to accept the things that are happening this season week by week.
“Until that moment, until the penalty and the red card, we were clearly the best team on the pitch. For 70 minutes we dominated them, we evened them of course until then.’
Silva admitted straying from his technical area but denied saying anything inappropriate to Kavanagh to justify a red card, also downplaying suggestions Mitrovic faces a lengthy ban.
“I don’t think so,” he said. ‘I saw the image and spoke to Mitro. It is a time for him to control emotions. He pushed the referee, but I didn’t see it as bad, as bad as you’re telling me. But I hope that the people who are going to decide (do it) fairly.
‘At all times, we must control the emotions of the game. Of course, we are human beings, but we have to understand the business.
‘If they gave me the red card for being outside my area, I have to accept it because I didn’t say anything to get him to give me the red card, even though he didn’t listen to what I said.
It shouldn’t be kicked out. It is a situation in which I have to be present in the difficult moment for my players to protect them from decisions.”
Silva stated that his team had “had very bad luck with Chris Kavanagh this season”
He said Mitrovic should have been given a penalty in the first half but VAR didn’t check it.
Manchester United recovered from being a goal down with Bruno Fernandes scoring twice
United manager Erik ten Hag agreed that coaches’ players need to control their emotions, but admitted it can be difficult after criticizing officials recently.
“You have to, but it’s not easy either,” said Ten Hag. “I was so frustrated last week when you see so many bad decisions, and then you feel like it’s against you. But you have a clear mind and keep running the game. The referees also have to take responsibility, but you’re right, we have to set an example.’
Ten Hag paid tribute to his players for booking another Wembley date three weeks after lifting the Carabao Cup there.
“Every time this team comes out, it shows the necessary personality and determination,” he added.