Manchester United and Fulham’s quarter-final FA Cup tie descended into chaos after referee Chris Kavanagh brandished three red cards within 40 seconds at Old Trafford.
Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic stunned United early in the second half after firing his side into a shock 1-0 lead on Sunday.
However, United continued to fight back and made a significant breakthrough after Antony found Jadon Sancho on a late counterattack.
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Sancho went around Bernd Leno and fired his shot towards the Fulham net, only for former Chelsea and Arsenal player Willian to clear it off the line with his arm.
VAR intervened and Kavanagh pointed to the spot after checking the monitor, which also saw Willian receive a red for the handball incident.
However, things turned ugly for Fulham as Mitrovic was also sent off after a heated confrontation with Kavanagh over his decision.
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Fulham manager Marco Silva was also sent marching down the Old Trafford tunnel after Kavanagh showed him a red card.
Bruno Fernandes stepped up for the subsequent penalty and converted past Leno to pull United level in the FA Cup tie.
Only minutes after Fernandes’ equaliser, United took the lead against Fulham after Bayern Munich loanee Marcel Sabitzer stylishly flicked in from close range.
“Good on the ref. This type of behaviour needs to stop,” one fan said.
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Someone else tweeted: “Most of us who referee have been surrounded like this, it’s not nice. Glad the referee made an example of Mitrovic.”
“Mitrovic pushing the referee. Silly red card,” a third added.
A fourth wrote: “The magic of the cup is alive and well.”
While one fan commented: “This is madness.”
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And one Fulham fan posted: “The worst 90 seconds of my entire existence.”
Fernandes completed his brace and ensured a 3-1 comeback win for United after Fred played him through in injury time and the Portugal star smashed the ball into the back of the net.
United’s 3-1 win over Fulham punched their ticket to the semi-finals, with Brighton, Manchester City and Sheffield United all emerging victorious from their quarter-final ties.
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Topics: Manchester United, Fulham, FA Cup, England, Football
Adnan Riaz