Aleksandar Mitrovic regrets behaviour in FA Cup defeat to Manchester United

Fulham forward Aleksandar Mitrovic has apologised to referee Chris Kavanagh and expressed his regret for pushing the official during the club’s recent FA Cup loss to Manchester United.

In the second half of their quarterfinal match at Old Trafford earlier this month, Mitrovic gave the Londoners the lead. The outcome of the game was changed after Willian, in a deliberate attempt, used his hand to block a shot that was on the line.

Prior to Mitrovic’s angry assault on the match official, Kavanagh checked the event using VAR with Fulham manager Marco Silva seeing red. Along with Willian, the Serbian striker was also dismissed, leaving Fulham with just nine players.

Mitrovic is set to get a lengthy punishment for his antics at Old Trafford. And the 28-year-old, who has received widespread criticism for his actions, has finally spoken up about the event, admitting he apologised to Kavanagh and took a club fine.

“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. I was trying to get the referee’s attention, 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 return to action on Saturday, April 1, when they play away to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.