By Keith Hackett

24th Mar, 2023 | 8:00am

Ex-Fifa official: Marco Silva to blame as another extended Fulham ban expected

Keith Hackett has claimed the “unacceptable” behaviour of Fulham boss Marco Silva is likely to have influenced the actions of Aleksandar Mitrovic after the pair were red-carded in the FA Cup against Man United on Sunday (19 March).

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League referee suggested he expects the Cottagers boss to land a “long ban” after he “inflamed” tensions at Old Trafford.

As seen in footage from ITV Football (19 March), Silva was red-carded for his protests against the decision to dismiss Willian for a clear-cut goal-line handball – with Mitrovic also given his marching orders for manhandling referee Chris Kavanagh.

As per Sky Sports (21 March), the Fulham boss has been hit with four charges by the FA – including verbal abuse of match officials and throwing a water bottle in the direction of the assistant referee.

The Londoners were 1-0 up prior to the handball and on their way to a Wembley semi-final, but with nine men they crumbled to a 3-1 defeat.

Silva has already been slapped with a one-match touchline ban this season after racking up four yellow cards.

Hackett told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “I think his behaviour was unacceptable.

“What he did sets an example for the rest of his players, and in this case Mitrovic.

“The manager’s behaviour will have had a degree of influence. Instead of calming the situation, he inflamed it – and Mitrovic just carried that on.

“But it’s a textbook penalty. He’s denied an obvious goal, and VAR has rightly come in.

“Fulham were in a dominant position in the game. Going down to 10 would have affected the game, but they completely imploded.

“The FA have got to sort Silva out now. I think he should get a long ban – and it’s not his first ban this season.”

In other news, pundit tells FA to make an “example” of Mitrovic after controversial new twist.