Fulham manager Marco Silva was unhappy with the referee during the 3-1 defeat to Man Utd in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
“I don’t understand why referee Chris Kavanagh still shows up in our matches. This season, Fulham has a lot of problems when he runs the game ,” coach Marco Silva said harshly in the press conference after the match between Fulham and Man Utd.
In the FA Cup quarter-final against Man Utd, Fulham played well for most of the game. The visitors took the lead in the 50th minute with a goal from Aleksandar Mitrovic. The turning point occurred in the 72nd minute. The referee Chris Kavanagh decided to give Man Utd a penalty, and at the same time drew 3 red cards for Willian for handball, striker Mitrovic and coach Marco Silva for reacting errors. .
Playing with 9 men and without a head coach, Fulham quickly collapsed with 3 goals scored by Sabitzer and a brace from Bruno Fernandes.
Coach Marco Silva recalled referee Kavanagh’s controversial decisions in another Fulham match. The Portuguese military leader believes that this referee brings trouble to his team.
“The game against West Ham, Fulham lost despite two obvious hand fouls. We received an apology for those mistakes. But then against Leeds United in the FA Cup, we did . I met him again Now it’s the quarterfinals, it’s confusing.
When Shaw pushed Mitrovic in the box, why didn’t they watch VAR. It was an obvious penalty but nobody cared, nobody.
I understand that referees are under pressure when working at Old Trafford. But it’s hard to accept mistakes that happen every week,” said the Fulham head coach.
Immediately after referee Chris Kavanagh showed Willian a red card, striker Mitrovic rushed forward and pushed his hand in response. He immediately received a red card. Talking about this situation, coach Silva said he sympathizes with the Fulham player.
“I reviewed the situation and spoke to Mitrovic. That was the moment he needed to control his emotions. He pushed the referee. Yes, but I don’t feel it’s as bad as people say. During the match, we should control our emotions. But the players are also human, and we need to understand them, ” said the Fulham coach.
In the end, coach Silva said he accepted the penalty because he had rushed out of the technical area and felt sorry for it: ” I should not have been sent off at that time. I need to be on the pitch, with the players at the most difficult times.”
With Man Utd, the victory over Fulham helps Man Utd continue to be firmly on the way to conquering the second domestic title of the season (FA Cup) after winning the English League Cup.
