19 March 2023 , 19:27
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Roy Keane says he has "no sympathy" for Fulham after Aleksandar Mitrovic, Willian and manager Marco Silva were sent off in the space of 60 seconds against Manchester United.
In a dramatic FA Cup quarter-final clash at Old Trafford, Fulham imploded to squander their lead and ended up coming away with a disgraceful 3-1 defeat. Boasting a 1-0 advantage beyond the hour mark and looking the team who'd go on to reach the semi-finals at Wembley, three red cards were handed out following winger Willian's handball to block Jadon Sancho's goal-bound effort and a subsequent VAR check.
Referee Chris Kavanagh went over to the pitch-side monitor to review the decision, and while doing so faced Silva's fury. The seething Fulham boss crossed his and United's technical areas to protest against the potential penalty and Kavanagh sent him off.
When the referee promptly returned to the field to award the Red Devils with a spot kick, he had no choice but to give Willian his marching orders. Striker and second-half goalscorer Mitrovic then made matters worse when he barged into Kavanagh during his angry protests, resulting in a third red card.
Bruno Fernandes tucked away the penalty before Marcel Sabitzer scored a second goal for United two minutes later. The Red Devils then wrapped up the win in stoppage time as Fernandes struck again to book a semi-final clash with Brighton.
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Former United captain Keane didn't feel sorry for Fulham, despite them being the better team before chaos ensued. "Self-destruction with the incident there, particularly the penalty, the reaction of the manager and the players," Keane told ITV post-match.
"A mad 90 seconds and it's cost them the game. It wasn't necessarily about United winning, it was about Fulham finding a way to lose. I've no sympathy for Fulham. They won't get any plaudits from me. They had an opportunity and they blew it."
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Aleksandar Mitrovic was the third Fulham man to be sent off as they FA Cup dream imploded (2023 Getty Images)Fellow pundit Karen Carney added: "You can't touch the referee. It's complete disrespect. It's shocking." Ian Wright went on to say: "If I'm a Fulham fan, I'd be very disappointed with that simply because I think they had that game in the bag.
"Manchester United hadn't done too much up to that point. They needed to be a little more disciplined about what they're doing, the manager especially. You needed the manager to calm down Mitrovic at that moment. I feel sorry for Fulham fans who travelled up."
An emotionally-charged Silva fronted up to ITV after the final whistle, defending his players for their impressive performance for much of the contest. "Let's talk about all the game and not just one moment," the Portuguese coach began. "I think it's fair enough."
"Until the penalty and red card, we were clearly the best team on the pitch. We respect Man United but it's clear we were the best team on the pitch. In that moment, I shouldn't be sent off, of course," Silva added, admitting guilt.