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Aleksandar Mitrovic provides a puzzling justification for his dismissal against Manchester United.
Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic has expressed regret for the conduct that resulted in his dismissal after the team’s FA Cup quarterfinal loss to Manchester United.
At Old Trafford, Mitrovic gave Fulham the lead, and the Cottagers needed just 20 minutes of stoppage time to advance to the last four.
But then it all spectacularly collapsed for them. Willian was sent off for a deliberate handball on the goal line, which eventually led to a Manchester United penalty after a VAR review because the initial ruling from referee Chris Kavanagh was a corner.
Fulham manager Marco Silva lost control and was escorted from the field before a decision was reached one way or the other. Willian was sent off when Kavanagh noticed the handball and pursued Mitrovic after he had furiously addressed and shoved the official.
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“On a personal level, I regret my actions that led to me being sent off. I allowed my frustration to get the better of me, and how I reacted was wrong,” he said.
The Serbian striker then gave a slightly bizarre explanation as to why he did what he did.
“I was trying to get the referee’s attention,” he said. “But I appreciate that I should not have put my hands on him and I understand why he showed me a red card, my first in-game sending off for Fulham and my first since the 2015/16 season.
“I have accepted the three-match ban for my red card, I have spoken to Chris Kavanagh to apologise, and I have volunteered to accept a club fine. I now want to do what I can to put this incident behind me and get back to helping my team-mates on the pitch as soon as possible.”
Fulham’s nine-man defence crumbled after Bruno Fernandes‘ equalizing penalty kick for Manchester United. With his debut goal in English football, Marcel Sabitzer almost immediately gave the home team the lead before Fernandes added a second goal late in the game.