Marco Silva believes Adam Wharton should have been sent off during Fulham’s 3-0 FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Crystal Palace.
The England midfielder was already on a yellow card, for a foul on Willian, when, minutes later, he appeared to kick out at Rodrigo Muniz and then push his elbow into the Brazilian’s back.
Ex-Palace defender Joachim Andersen argued to the referee that Wharton ought to have been sent off, but Darren England had not awarded a foul for the incident.
VAR can only intervene on potential straight red cards so were not able to assess whether the challenge warranted a second booking. Wharton stayed on the pitch as Palace ran out 3-0 winners at Craven Cottage, booking their place in the FA Cup semi-finals.
“If you ask me what my opinion is, of course, it should have been a second yellow card,” Silva said.
“Rodrigo is there, the ball is not there, and if you kick your opposition player, it should be a second yellow card. Of course, VAR can’t overturn. But if you have eight eyes from the fourth officials, they should have seen it.
“It should have had a massive impact on the game. The referees are not seeing them and, unfortunately, we are getting used to this type of situation.”
Silva added: “It’s a frustration for us and our fans. But, in my opinion, it should be a frustration for the fourth officials, because they were not able to see it.”
