Fulham’s Striker, Aleksandar Mitrovic has received an eight-game suspension for grabbing referee Chris Kavanagh during his team’s loss to Manchester United in the FA Cup.
Fulham’s manager, Marco Silva, was also given a two-game touchline ban for his angry reaction to the incident. Mitrovic’s suspension resulted from his confrontation with Kavanagh after the referee awarded a penalty kick to Manchester United, which led to Mitrovic being shown a red card.
Mitrovic later claimed he was attempting to get the referee’s attention, but an independent Regulatory Commission found this untrue.
The Commission also determined that Mitrovic’s behavior and language after his red card were improper, abusive, insulting, and threatening, resulting in an additional two-match ban and a fine of £75,000.
Mitrovic has already served one match of his suspension and will be unavailable for Fulham’s next seven matches. The Commission stated that the standard punishment for Mitrovic’s violent conduct toward the referee was inadequate, leading to a more severe penalty.