Red, red, whine: Silva takes aim at referee Kavanagh as Fulham fold at Old Trafford

By Sports Desk March 19, 2023

Marco Silva fumed at referee Chris Kavanagh and his VAR colleagues after Fulham's spectacular FA Cup implosion at Manchester United, claiming his team were hard done by before seeing red.

The Cottagers bowed out with nine men at Old Trafford as they surrendered a 1-0 lead and eventually went down 3-1 after head coach Silva, striker Aleksandar Mitrovic and midfielder Willian were all red-carded in quick succession.

Fulham were on course for their first appearance in the last four of the competition since 2002, but their hopes were extinguished as the tie descended into chaos when referee Kavanagh awarded United a penalty 18 minutes from time.

After consulting VAR, and red-carding Silva for his protests, Kavanagh sent off Willian for handling Jadon Sancho's shot on the line, while Mitrovic followed for getting physical with the official.

Silva called for consistency on VAR decisions after feeling his side should have been awarded two penalties in the first half, claiming Kavanagh had already angered him with several decisions going against his side this season.

"Until the penalty moment and the red cards, we were clearly the best team on the pitch," Silva told the BBC. "The players stuck to the plan, we were brave to control the game against Manchester United and I believe we clearly showed our quality.

"It is a shame the ref wasn't shown VAR for the first-half moments. It is difficult to be Fulham at Old Trafford, the VAR feels the pressure too. For us, it is difficult to understand why they didn't do the same."

Silva added, speaking to ITV: "For me, it [the penalty] was a decision that VAR can take, but what is difficult for us to understand is why the two moments in their box in the first half – and one of them is a clear penalty on Mitrovic – no one checks or wants to see.

"Chris was in a game we played away at West Ham where we lost with two clear handballs, we received the apology because of the mistakes.

"The last game at Leeds in the FA Cup, it was him again. And for a game that is in the quarter-finals, it's him again, it's difficult to understand.

"Of course, we respect that he's a top referee in this country, I accept that. But unfortunately for us, with us, he's been really unhappy this season."

Nevertheless, Silva acknowledged he and Mitrovic were deserving of their dismissals, and knows he and his players must demonstrate greater levels of discipline going forward.

"Even if I haven’t done something special, I have to control myself," Silva added. "I didn't say anything special to the ref, he didn't listen and showed me the red card. As I left my area, I have to accept it.

"You have to keep the emotional balance, of course. Sometimes, it is not easy, but it is our obligation to do it.

"It's been a tough season in some moments for us. We know that we are Fulham, we don't have the same importance in football as some others, but it's difficult for us to deal with some situations."

Related items

  • Mikel Arteta says Pep Guardiola ‘best coach in the world’ ahead of Man City game Mikel Arteta says Pep Guardiola ‘best coach in the world’ ahead of Man City game

    Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has hailed Pep Guardiola as “the best coach in the world” as the close friends prepare for a potentially seismic game in the Premier League title battle this weekend.

    Manchester City play host to their title rivals at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday having won the last seven home meetings between the two sides.

    Arsenal finally managed to record a rare victory over City when they won the reverse fixture at the Emirates Stadium earlier this season and go into the weekend top of the table – above Liverpool on goal difference with Guardiola’s reigning champions a point further back.

    The two Spaniards are good friends, Arteta having worked under Guardiola at City between 2016 and 2019 and played his part in two Premier League title wins.

    Now though, they will once again be in opposite dugouts as Arteta prepares to lock horns with a manager he believes is without rival.

    Asked if his relationship with Guardiola was different now, Arteta replied: “It had to change.

    “My admiration and what I feel for him certainly hasn’t. In my opinion he’s the best coach in the world by a mile and he’s one of the nicest people that I’ve met in football.

    “Certainly he’s one of the ones that I’ve had the most fun and laughter working with. That’s going to stay there forever.

    “At the moment the rules are what they are and you’re going to have to adapt to it.”

    Having sparred for the title last season, before City ultimately pipped Arsenal for the trophy en route to winning the treble, Arteta is keen to go one better this term.

    “Probably I would prefer to do it against someone who I don’t have those feelings for but that’s not a choice,” he added.

    “It’s what it is. We both want to win.

    “We’ll prepare the game very well. You cannot feel different about the person, but professionally you have to act differently.”

    Arteta confirmed forwards Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli could feature having missed the international break with minor injuries, while Gabriel Magalhaes is also expected to be fit enough to start.

    The challenge for Arsenal is not only end a nine-year wait for a league win at City but to also emulate their rivals in establishing themselves as a major power in European football.

    “They have raised the bar in this league and football in general to levels that haven’t been seen before,” he added on City’s success.

    “That’s the beauty of this sport because it makes you better and challenges you more. You have to keep up with that pace and that’s what we’re trying to do.

    “It’s a massive game for both teams. It will give us a huge boost again if we go there and win it. Still there is a long, long, long way after to make the ground to win it.”

  • Celtic will not risk Callum McGregor ahead of Rangers showdown Celtic will not risk Callum McGregor ahead of Rangers showdown

    Celtic captain Callum McGregor has a “very good chance” of facing Rangers but will not be risked on Livingston’s artificial surface.

    Manager Brendan Rodgers will delay McGregor’s comeback until after Sunday’s cinch Premiership contest at the Tony Macaroni Arena.

    The midfielder has been troubled by Achilles pain and has not featured since coming off at half-time during Celtic’s 7-1 win over Dundee on February 28.

    Rodgers said: “Callum has been out on the field, but we are not risking him in this game. But he should hopefully re-join training next week.”

    When asked if McGregor had a chance of facing Rangers, Rodgers replied: “Yes, a very good chance.”

    Reo Hatate is set to make his return after playing only 19 minutes for Celtic since October. The Japan midfielder briefly returned from a hamstring injury at the start of the year only to suffer calf problems during the Asian Cup.

    Cameron Carter-Vickers is also expected to play after being left out of the United States squad amid ongoing hamstring issues but Celtic could again be without wingers Yang Hyun-jun and Luis Palma, the latter of whom has a calf injury.

    Rodgers said: “Cameron is fine, Reo Hatate is back and available in the squad, which is great news. He has worked very hard, he played a bounce game in the time off and he has built up his fitness.

    “Yang has come back (from South Korea duty) with a bit of tightness so we just need to make sure that’s nothing more serious. He played two 60 minutes and a 30 minutes when he was away, so he has come back a little bit tight. We just have to check and make sure he is OK.

    “Luis Palma will probably just miss out on this weekend but will hopefully be available soon.”

    Rodgers admits Livingston’s artificial pitch comes into his thinking when making his team selection.

    “You certainly have to consider it,” he said. “Like, for example Callum, you have to think along that route.

    “There’s no doubt it comes into your thinking, especially on the back of an international break when players have been travelling.

    “I think we are all hopeful in the future that we will have quality grass pitches here that the supporters can see the best possible game they can, but at this moment we play on the plastic pitch so we have to deal with that.

    “Of course that means we have to think about team selection and the welfare of the player, and obviously from Callum’s perspective it’s probably too much of a risk for us.”

  • Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool assessing Andy Robertson injury ‘day by day’ Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool assessing Andy Robertson injury ‘day by day’

    Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool will take things “day by day” with Andy Robertson as he indicated the left-back’s injury was not serious.

    Robertson was being assessed by the Reds after coming off in the first half of Scotland’s friendly against Northern Ireland on Tuesday due to an ankle issue.

    Speaking at his press conference ahead of Sunday’s Premier League home clash with Brighton, Liverpool boss Klopp said: “Robbo, we take it a little bit day by day, so we will see.

    “He will not train today but it’s not as bad, so that’s fine.”

    Klopp – whose side after the Brighton game continue their title bid by hosting Sheffield United next Thursday, then playing Manchester United away three days later – also reported that Darwin Nunez, a withdrawal from Uruguay’s squad as the international break got under way, was “fine”.

    Ibrahima Konate, absent for Liverpool’s last three games, is set to be available this weekend as well, and while Klopp said he was unsure if that applied to Curtis Jones, the midfielder has been training.

    Liverpool have also had Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota on the sidelines, and Klopp added: “The other boys, from next week on, step by step I think they will join parts of team training, and then team training, so we will see what we do with that.

    “They’re not too far away but not in yet. They all make their steps, so it’s positive.”

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.