Football is one of the most exciting as well as one of the most unpredictable sports in the world today. From gameplay to goals, to fouls and red cards, the action keeps audiences on the hook all the time. That’s exactly what happened in the match between Manchester United and Fulham on 19.03.2023.
In a rather unfortunate turn of events, Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic has been slapped an 8 match suspension as a result of the red card he received against Manchester United last Sunday.
The match was a crucial encounter as it was the FA Cup quarter-finals, with the winner heading into the semi-finals of the tournament. In the end, it was Manchester United that emerged victorious with a 3-1 margin over the visitors, Fulham. The match was a frustrating affair for the visitors who ended the day with three red cards in their kitty.
The first red card came in the 70th minute when Referee Chris Kavanagh slapped a straight red card on Fulham’s winger, Willian because of a deliberate handball to block Jadon Sancho’s shot towards an empty goal. The Manchester United players had immediately protested to Willian’s actions for denying United a goal with the handball offence. Nonetheless, the Willian handball incident allowed Manchester United to get an immediate penalty strik, which was successfully converted by striker Bruno Fernandes.
The next red card came not to a player, but the Fulham coach himself. Coach Marco Silva was slapped a red card by Kavanagh for his for displaying abusive behavior and excessively protesting against the match officials throughout.
This was quickly followed by a third red card which was given to Aleksandar Mitrovic. The Serbian striker was booked for protested the referee’s decision and eventually putting his hands on Kavanagh, pushing him while complaining about the official’s decision. The 28 year old striker was given a stright red card and sent off the field immediately.
Mitrovic has been in amazing goal scoring form this season and has been the foundation of Fulham’s front line. The ace striker has successfully scored 11 goals from his last 21 appearances in the Premier League for Fulham.
Now as a result of his actions, Mitrovic has now been slapped an eight-game ban which may turn out to be a huge loss for Fulham because, they still have 10 games remaining this season. That means, Fulham will not be strengthened by their main source of goals in eight of their remaining 10 matches. All in all, the 8-match ban on Mitrovic will be a major blow for his side for the remainder of the season. They really need a strong replacement alternative till Mitrovic is back on the field!
