FA to appeal Aleksandar Mitrovic ban for referee shove as punishment 'not severe enough'

The FA are planning to appeal the suspension given to Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic for shoving a referee because the punishment is not severe enough.

The Premier League has seen plenty of pantomime villains over the years but Mitrovic arguably stands head and shoulders above the rest.

The Serbian striker has proven himself to be a ruthless goalscorer both in the Championship and Premier League while at Fulham, having scored 108 goals in 202 appearances for the Cottagers.

However, despite posting such impressive numbers, Mitrovic hasn't always let his goals do the talking.

The 28-year-old has earned a reputation for practicing the 'dark arts' of the game, and having a particularly short fuse.

It doesn't take a lot for Mitrovic to lose his temper, and that was abundantly clear during Fulham's defeat to Manchester United last month.

The striker had put his side 1-0 up in an FA Cup quarter-final tie at Old Trafford. But with Fulham just 18-minutes away from a place in the semi-finals at Wembley, he completely lost his head.

United were awarded a penalty when Brazilian attacker Willian denied a clear goalscoring opportunity when he handled the ball on the goal line.

Mitrovic was enraged by referee Chris Kavanagh's decision to show his teammate a red card, and rushed over to the official and shoved him.

Mitrovic saw red himself and nine-man Fulham went on to lose 3-1.

Straight red cards for violent conduct carry a standard three-match ban, but because of the serious nature of Mitrovic's actions, an independent regulatory commission slapped him with an eight-match ban and a £75,000 fine.

Aleksandar Mitrovic was sent off for Fulham at Manchester United in the FA Cup.

Fulham manager Marco Silva, dismissed for using insulting and abusive language towards the officials, had his one-game ban upgraded to two.

However, the FA are now seeking to have both suspensions increased.

A statement from the governing body read: "We note the decision of the independent Regulatory Commission to sanction Aleksandar Mitrovic and Marco Silva. Our current intention is to appeal both sanctions, however we will await the written reasons before confirming our final position."

Mitrovic is set to miss all but three of Fulham's remaining Premier League fixtures this season but could miss all of them if his ban is extended.

Topics: Fulham, Premier League, FA, FA Cup, Manchester United

Alex Brotherton

Alex Brotherton is a Sports Trends Writer at SPORTbible. He has previously worked with publications including the Manchester Evening News, GOAL and BBC Sport. He is a football fanatic, but also dabbles in tennis and American football. He enjoys running, cooking and watching non-league football.

@alex_brotherton