By Frank Dalleres
Fulham manager Marco Silva doubled down on criticism of referee Chris Kavanagh after his team lost their heads and an FA Cup semi-final place with three red cards in 40 seconds at Manchester United on Sunday.
In a minute of madness, Silva was sent to the stands, Willian was dismissed for deliberate handball and then, worst of all, Fulham goalscorer Aleksandar Mitrovic was shown a straight red for manhandling Kavanagh.
It all came from Willian stopping Jadon Sancho’s goal-bound shot on the line 20 minutes from time. Bruno Fernandes equalised from the spot, Marcel Sabitzer instantly flicked in a second and Fernandes blasted a third in stoppage time.
The comeback set up a semi-final between United and Brighton and Hove Albion, who thrashed Grimsby Town, with Manchester City facing Sheffield United, conquerors of Blackburn Rovers, in the other tie.
Silva said: “Chris [Kavanagh] was in a game we played 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 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, but unfortunately for us it’s been really unhappy this season.”
Silva cited two Fulham penalty appeals that he felt were ignored but admitted he and Mitrovic should have kept their cool.
“In that moment he has to control his emotions much more like all of us should,” he added.
“You have to keep the emotional balance of course. Sometimes it is not easy but it is our obligation to do it.
“I didn’t say anything special to the ref. He didn’t listen and showed me the red card. It is a moment to control my emotions. The game was decided in the moment.
“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.”
Brighton ended fourth-tier Grimsby Town’s FA Cup fairytale in brutal fashion, Evan Ferguson scoring twice in a 5-0. Deniz Undav, Solly March and Kaoru Mitoma also netted for the Seagulls.
In Sunday’s all-Championship quarter-final, Sheffield United twice came from behind before snatching a late 3-2 win at home to Blackburn.
The Blades will face Manchester City in the semis, keeping alive the possibility of the first ever Manchester derby FA Cup final.
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