English FA Release Statement on Alexander Mitrovic and Marco Silva's Incident

The English Football Association has released a statement on the situation involving Alexander Mitrovic and his coach, Marco Silva.

The pair were sent off in the FA Cup quater final game against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, March 19th, 2023. Willian was shown a straight red card for handling the ball on the line, giving United the chance to level from the penalty spot.

The referee, Chris Kavanagh went over to the VAR screen, Silva was shown red for acting angrily after Willian was dismissed. Mitrovic duly confronted the referee and was sent off for appearing to shove him. The FA released a statement on Monday, March 20th, 2023 charging the pair with four offenses.

It's alleged that Marco Silva used abusive and/or insulting words and/or gestures and/or behaviour towards the match referee; that he used abusive and/or insulting words towards the fourth official prior to his dismissal; and that he also used abusive and/or insulting words and/or gestures and/or behaviour towards the fourth official after being sent off. It's further alleged that in throwing a water bottle in the direction of the assistant referee his behaviour was improper.

However, Mitrovic is likely to miss more than three games with The FA claiming that the standard three-match suspension is "clearly insufficient" and pushing for an extended ban.