By Keith Hackett

8th Apr, 2023 | 8:00am

Ex-Fifa official can't believe Fulham development after new ban twist

Keith Hackett has insisted the punishments handed to Fulham star Aleksandar Mitrović and manager Marco Silva are “absolute nonsense” and should be increased.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League referee claimed the sanctions should be reviewed “for the good of the game” – particularly at grassroots level.

The FA confirmed on Tuesday (4 April) that Mitrovic has been banned for eight matches for his conduct in the FA Cup clash with Man United last month – one of which has already been served.

Meanwhile, Silva was handed a two-match touchline ban for his outburst.

The FA also confirmed it will be appealing the outcome of the Independent Regulatory Commission’s investigation – in an attempt to increase the punishment.

As seen in footage from ITV Football’s coverage of the FA Cup clash (19 March), Mitrovic was dismissed after shouting in the face of Kavanagh, before pushing him – while Silva was red-carded for abusing officials and throwing a water bottle.

Hackett told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “First of all, I think the FA have got a responsibility to the game.

“This incident will affect what is happening at the grassroots level. It’s already bad enough with violence towards referees, with body cameras being introduced.

“The eight games is absolute nonsense.

“I’m not picking on Mitrovic, but his actions were threatening towards the referee – who got every decision right.

“For the good of football, there is a duty of care to the referees to increase this punishment.

“In terms of Silva, his punishment is inadequate. You can’t just pick up the phone, apologise to the referee and knock a couple of games off.

“He’s got a history of this kind of thing.

“I think this has been handled very poorly.”

In other news, Fulham in multi-club race for Championship star.