Marco Silva has told BBC Sport that he, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Fulham regret the ill-discipline that caused the Whites to crash out of the FA Cup at Manchester United ten days ago – and will accept the punishments that are likely to come their way.
The Portuguese head coach apologised to Chris Kavanagh and Fulham’s fans for his own conduct that saw him receive one of three red cards in 40 seconds as the Cottagers lost the 1-0 lead in the FA Cup quarter final at Old Trafford they held – and exited the competition. Mitrovic and Silva have offered personal apologies to the official but both are likely to be hit with significant bans, which may rule them out of Saturday’s trip to Bournemouth and much of the remainder of the domestic season.
Silva told the broadcast section of his pre-match press conference at Motspur Park this afternoon:
“We made a mistake in that moment, Mitro made a mistake as well and, of course, we regret the situation. We have to apologise not just the situation with Chris Kavanagh, all our fans and everybody who loves football as well. After a good performance from ourselves, the 72 minutes we were really good, that moment and that incident made a huge impact in the game.
If nothing happens tomorrow, I will be on the touchline on Saturday. It is always tough for any manager to not be on the touchline. It is what we love. It is what we like to do, to be with our players, to be there involved every time in the game. It is what is going to happen. I regret the situation and If I have to be in the stand, I will be in the stand. I will do my job during the week and before the match and at half time to prepare as best as I can my players”.
