How many games will Mitrovic miss? Fulham star sent off for shoving referee at Man United

During Fulham's FA Cup game against Manchester United at Old Trafford, the Cottagers striker reacted angrily to Kavanagh awarding the hosts a penalty and sending Willian off for handball on the line.

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Fulham were leading 1-0 at the time, but it was an obvious handball, and as Kavanagh walked back from the VAR screen, Mitrovic pushed the referee and was sent off and the striker could be out for a long time.

It proved to be a crucial turning point in the game as Man United scored the resulting penalty and went on to win 3-1 to dump the Cottagers out of the competition with Mitrovic earlier giving them the lead.

How many games will Mitrovic miss?

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A red card for anything other than the denial of a goalscoring opportunity or two bookable offences comes with a three-match ban.

This is because any other offence is deemed to be violent conduct and pushing a referee is almost certainly violent.

However, the striker is likely to be banned for longer, based on past incidents.

In 2017, ex-Manchester United and Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo received a five-game ban after he pushed Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea during a Spanish Super Cup match.

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Ronaldo received a second yellow card from the referee after he was deemed to dive in the box.

The Portuguese superstar reacted angrily and shoved the official.

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The Spanish footballing authorities dished out a five-game ban for Ronaldo, so Mitrovic can expect further punishment.

There was also talk of a five-match ban for Bruno Fernandes after Man United's 7-0 defeat to Liverpool.

The Red Devils star pushed the assistant referee but escaped a ban despite the chief executive of Ref Support UK, Martin Cassidy, calling for a lengthy ban.

And in 1998, Sheffield Wednesday's Paolo Di Canio received an 11-match ban for shoving referee Paul Alcock to the floor against Arsenal.

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By pushing the referee, the Serbian striker broke paragraph 96 of the Football Association's Disciplinary Regulations, Part D - On-Field Regulations, Section 3.

That section states: "Physical actions (or attempted actions) that are unlikely to cause injury to the Match Official but are nevertheless confrontational, examples include but are not limited to: pushing the Match Official or pulling the Match Official (or their clothing or equipment).

"Physical contact or attempted physical contact: Suspension from all football activities for a period of between 112 days and two years. The recommended entry point, prior to considering any mitigating or aggravating factors, is 182 days."

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Therefore, it is extremely likely that we won't be seeing Fulham's top goalscorer for quite some time. He could even miss the rest of this campaign and the start of the 2023/24 season.

Marco Silva's side have games against Bournemouth, West Ham and Everton coming up and they will definitely be without Mitrovic for them, and we might be waiting a lot longer than that to see him again.

It is now up to the FA to decide just how many matches Mitrovic will miss for his ridiculous decision to push the referee.