Fulham striker Alexander Mitrovic will be banned for the next seven matches after being found guilty of violent and improper conduct for putting his hands on referee Chris Kavanagh.
The Serbian striker was sent off for squaring up to and pushing the referee following his decision to award United a penalty during their 3-1 FA Cup quarter-final win at the Theatre of Dreams.
Fulham were 1-0 up at the time and by far the better side but the referee sent off Willian for handballing on the line and Marco Silva for protesting the decision, before giving Mitrovic his marching orders.
Mitrovic had put Fulham ahead in the tie and he came close to doubling their lead with a header shortly after.
A statement on on Fulham’s website on Tuesday read: ‘Following a hearing in relation to our FA Cup tie with Manchester United last month, an Independent Regulatory Commission has decided that:
- Aleksandar Mitrović should be suspended for a total of eight games, one of which he has already served. He should also pay a £75,000 fine;
- Marco Silva should serve a touchline ban for two games, and pay a £20,000 fine for the incident which saw him sent off;
- Marco Silva should pay a separate £20,000 fine for his media comments after the match;
- The Club should be fined £40,000 for the failure to prevent its players surrounding the referee.
Mitrovic apologised after the incident, but also tried to accept the standard three-game ban for a straight red card, which has now been extended for his case.
He wrote: ‘I regret my actions that led to me being sent off. I allowed my frustration to get the better of me, and how I reacted was wrong. I was trying to get the referee’s attention, but I appreciate that I should not have put my hands on him and I understand why he showed me a red card, my first in-game sending off for Fulham and my first since the 2015-16 season.
‘I have accepted the three-match ban for my red card, I have spoken to Chris Kavanagh to apologise, and I have volunteered to accept a club fine.
‘I now want to do what I can to put this incident behind me and get back to helping my teammates on the pitch as soon as possible. In the meantime, I would like to reiterate my regret that this happened. I have already said sorry to my teammates, but I would also like to apologise to the Fulham fans, particularly those who travelled to Old Trafford to support us and who did not stop singing all game. I hope to be back soon and repay their faith and support.
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