FOOTBALL fans were left fuming after comparing Aleksandar Mitrovic’s red card for pushing the referee to Bruno Fernandes’ unpunished shove on a linesman.
Mitrovic, 28, lost his head during Fulham’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester United after Willian was dismissed for a handball on the line.
As referee Chris Kavanagh returned from the VAR monitor to send off the former Chelsea man, Mitrovic proceeded to push the official.
He was immediately shown a red card as Fulham were reduced to nine men, which all happened after manager Marco Silva has also been given his marching orders for encroaching on the ref as he looked at the VAR monitor.
But football fans have been quick to point out the similarity of Mitrovic’s actions to that of Fernandes’ at Anfield earlier this month.
The Portuguese playmaker, 28, who scored twice to clinch Man Utd’s place in the FA Cup semi-finals, avoided punishment despite appearing to push the assistant referee during United’s humiliating 7-0 loss to Liverpool.
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It is an inconsistency the footballing world were not prepared to let slide.
Reacting on social media, one person said: “Mitrovic was ridiculous there 😂. 🤔 But his push on the ref was no less than Bruno Fernandes on the linesman the other week. 🤷🏼♂️ Where’s the consistency?”
Another added: “Sent Mitrovic off for touching an official, but didn’t do the same to Fernandes a few weeks ago. Where is the consistency?”
A third replied: “What Mitrovic did was disgraceful but Fernandes basically did the exact same thing at Anfield. Both should’ve been straight red cards.”
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And a fourth responded: “Just seen the Mitrovic red card. Pretty sure Bruno Fernandes got away with doing the exact same thing a couple of weeks ago. Howard Webb strikes again…”
Another fan said: “More double standards. Right to send Mitrovic off but no action against Fernandes for shoving a linesman.”
While yet another supporter added: “Different rules for Penchester United. A – Mitrovic argues with referee over a red card = sent off. B – Bruno Fernandes shoves linesman and kicks a player = No card no action taken.”
And it wasn’t just the fans who remembered Fernandes’ misdemeanour at Anfield.
The talkSPORT pundit Darren Bent also complained about double-standards, when he took to Twitter.
He shared: “Bruno gets nothing for pushing a linesman but mitrovic gets a straight red for bumping the ref , inconsistent VAR Embarrassing.”
Man Utd will now face Brighton in the FA Cup semi-finals on the weekend of April 22/23.
In the other semi-final tie, rivals Manchester City will take on Championship outfit Sheffield United.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
