Richard Keys lets rip at FA with Fernandes and Mitrovic comparison

20 March 2023 , 12:24

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Richard Keys thinks Bruno Fernandes was lucky to avoid punishment (Image: Talk TV)

Referee Chris Kavanagh got all the big decisions right during Manchester United ’s chaotic win over Fulham, but Bruno Fernandes should not have even been on the pitch, according to Richard Keys.

Kavanagh showed three red cards in quick succession at Old Trafford after Willian handballed on the line to stop Jadon Sancho’s shot from going in. Willian was shown red before Aleksandar Mitrovic followed him down the tunnel for pushing the referee and Fulham boss Marco Silva was also dismissed for arguing with the officials.

Fernandes scored the resulting penalty to make it 1-1 and Fulham imploded, with Marcel Sabitzer putting United ahead soon after before Fernandes smashed in another goal late on. The decisions have sparked a great deal of debate, with Silva furious because Kavanagh overlooked Fulham’s shout for a penalty in the third minute for a challenge by Luke Shaw on Mitrovic.

Former Sky Sports anchor Keys dismissed Silva’s argument and praised Kavanagh for his cool head in the incident-packed second half. “Kavanagh was terrific and got every call right - including denying Mitrovic a pen in the first half, the incident that sparked Marco Silva’s fury,” he wrote in his blog.

“Silva thought Kavanagh should’ve been asked to check his monitor when Mitrovic and the wee man clashed in the box. If Kavanagh had done he wouldn’t have changed his mind, but perhaps a look would’ve satisfied Silva?

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“Mitrovic should be banned for some time for his ridiculous attack on the ref. What was going through his mind?”

Aleksandar Mitrovic was sent off for Fulham after pushing referee Chris Kavanagh (Getty Images)

Bruno Fernandes pushed assistant referee Adam Nunn but escaped any punishment (Sky Sports)

HAVE YOUR SAY! Does Richard Keys have a point? Comment below.

But while the beIN SPORT presenter was happy with the decisions on the field, he felt Fulham were unfortunate in another way. Fernandes scored two of United’s three goals, but Keys believes he should have been unavailable for the match after being caught handling linesman Adam Nunn during the 7-0 thrashing by Liverpool earlier this month.

He wrote: “It was an irony that Fernandes got a couple because he should be serving a ban. I still don’t know how he escaped an FA charge after he man-handled the assistant at Anfield. The FA were weak and should’ve charged him. My Mum used to tell me that ‘you reap what you sow’. The FA certainly did this weekend.”

Fernandes escaped any punishment from the FA for his behaviour at Anfield, despite the governing body being able to take retrospective disciplinary action if a player committed a sending-off offence.

However, because the incident was seen by referee Andy Madley and his team and then not included in their report, the FA could not take any action. Retrospective action is only taken if it is deemed match officials missed a clear sending-off offence.

Felix Keith