'He wasn't even booked': Bitter Marco Silva believes Fernandes should've seen red for one moment vs Liverpool

Marco Silva feels bitter over Bruno Fernandes escaping punishment for an incident similar to Aleksandar Mitrovic's red card vs Man Utd.

Fulham boss Marco Silva has aimed a subtle dig at Bruno Fernandes after the Manchester United star escaped punishment for laying his hands on an assistant referee. Silva faces losing striker Aleksandar Mitrovic for at least three matches after he pushed referee Chris Kavanagh. 

Mitrovic was shown a red card for violent conduct after he twice pushed Kavanagh and then shouted in the face of the official during Fulham’s FA Cup defeat at United. The Serb has been given a three-match ban but faces having his suspension extended. 

Fulham head coach Silva has urged the referee to take into account that they failed to punish Fernandes when he seemed to push an assistant referee during United’s 7-0 thrashing by Liverpool at the start of the month. Asked about Mitrovic’s ban, Silva - who was also red-carded in the ill-tempered cup clash - said: “I respect the rules and that’s it. I’m not the right person to say how many games.

“It depends how they see it. Because it’s not so strict, that the people touch an official should get three games or more. It’s not so.

“A couple of weeks ago we had a good example and not even a booking. You know the example that I am talking about.

“He (Fernandes) was not even booked… About the moment with ourselves, we regret. Mitro will learn and to improve.”

Referees’ charity Ref Support told Express Sport they expect Mitrovic to be banned for at least six matches. It comes amid growing abuse of officials at grassroots level. 

“We’re asking for at least a six-game ban here,” Ref Support CEO Martin Cassidy said. “That’s the sort of thing you see in a grassroots game in Argentina - not the top-flight and in the most prestigious cup competition in the world. If people think they can behave like that in a top-flight arena, what chance has the grassroots referee got?”

Cassidy wants the FA to do more to support referees at the top of the game, with abuse filtering down the divisions and into grassroots. He warned that a referee could be murdered if the governing body fail to get a grip of the issue. 

“We’re really worried that if the FA don’t send strong messages out, that it’s going to get replicated and a referee is going to be murdered. That’s something where I’m dreading the day it happens,” Cassidy added. 

“I don’t know anyone that doesn’t think that this will keep escalating until a referee is murdered. The whole game at all levels needs to address it. 

“The first great step, and this is really positive, is that the FA look like they are trying to get a grip of it at grassroots with the body-cam pilots. What are they going to do at top-flight level?”