Marco Silva slams ‘terrible’ referee and VAR decision in Fulham’s 3-2 defeat to Man Utd

Fulham boss Marco Silva speaking to Sky Sports: “Top performance from ourselves. Second half, our team was better. The way we played and controlled the ball, they wanted to press us high but we never let them. They scored when we switched off but we kept going and scored a goal that was disallowed. It is what it is. Difficult but we have to accept it.

“The story of the game started with a horrendous terrible decision from John Brooks with the penalty he gave. Horrendous decision from that moment, big, big mistake. It was the first time we saw all the Premier League fans and us coaches and players. We have to take all this frustration to win the next one.”

On the VAR: “The penalty was given by the tackle. After, because the decision was so bad, they found a different foul.”

On Kevin’s goal: “Great goal from Kevin and what a moment for him. he deserves these moments and is a big talent.”

On decisions going against Fulham: “I feel my players, I feel our fans but we have to respect and the people in charge. I know why the penalty was given. VAR went in a completely different direction to find something to find a free-kick that was not the reason why the penalty was given.”

On if he has spoken to John Brooks: “I don’t want get more cards because I want to be on the touchline. I don’t want to speak more.”

Fulham manager Marco Silva speaking to BBC: “The game started with a terrible decision from John Brooks, a completely bad decision from him. It was a clear simple tackle on the ball. I understand VAR are now saying different things but the penalty was given for the tackle. Nobody is going to give a penalty for a pull.”

On if he feels the game was re-refereed: “It is my feeling definitely. First of all a terrible decision on a clear and simple tackle The feedback from the fourth official was that the referee would come to the screen. Probably it is the first time it was given and the decision was overturned by VAR.”

On if he can put the disappointment of defeat behind him: “100% sure. We showed again our character and attitude and commitment. It was a great reaction from all of us. The players that came in helped the team and the players that are there all the time helped as well. It was a great reaction from all of us, unfortunately we don’t take points but we take much more from it.”

On if his team are in the race for Europe: “We are in a race to be better every single moment. That is the main thing, to improve ourselves as a team.”

Fulham’s Emile Smith Rowe speaking to Sky Sports: “Really frustrating. I thought the boys fought really hard today to get back into the game. It’s a bit annoying to concede straight after equalising.

On what Marco Silva has said: “We have to stick together at this moment in time. Coming here we knew it was going to be tough. We have to go again and stick together.”

On if he felt decisions went against Fulham: “This is football. We can’t do much, all we can do is try to perform as best we can. It felt like some decisions didn’t go our way but it’s football at the end of the day.”

“We want to do that every game, we want to compete, fight and show our best on and off the ball. I felt we got a bit unlucky today. We still have a lot to play for. We are still in the cups and have had a good season so far.”

Manchester United boss Michael Carrick speaking to Sky Sports about Casemiro’s impact in the dressing room: “Casemiro has been such a presence since I came. I have huge respect for what he has done, how he goes about his day-to-day and how motivated he is. You only achieve what he has by having all of that.

“He is desperate for a big finish. We all know it is coming to an end at the end of this season, but you wouldn’t have thought it today. He showed it with a big goal and a big performance for us. Having seen his celebrations, it means just as much to him as it does for most.”

On his emotions during the games: “I’ll be honest, the last goal was a big moment and the celebrations were big. That’s what the game does to us and that’s why we love it. The disappointment to the elation – running down the touchline and jumping on Ben [Sesko] – is special. Those moments are what you want more of.

“We aren’t getting too far ahead of ourselves though. We are taking everything game-by-game. We can be better than what we played today and I think there’s a lot more to come from us in different aspects of the game. We are working on things and trying to improve things, but today was about getting through things in the best way we could.”

 Carrick, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: “There’s a lot that went on today in the game. I was well aware of what a good team Fulham are going into the game. I was getting questions thrown at me about teams sitting back here, but I knew it was never going to be like that today. They are a good team, I knew we were going to have to answer a lot of questions and we did that for a lot of it. The boys put in a big effort and they were really desperate to win the game.

“Similar to last week, to go ahead to then be pegged back to then go again is so delightful. For Ben [Sesko] to come on and have a moment like that is huge. It was nice for him to get his moment in front of the Stretford End, there’s not a better place to score a winner like that.

“It’s a big moment for everyone. You could tell that in the way everyone celebrated from the staff to the supporters. It was one of those special ones.”

On missing the chance to go 3-0 up: “That’s life as a striker, not that I know much about it. You have to be in there to take the chances and sometimes you miss the chances, but we have done a lot of good work in the past few weeks. The coaches have done a lot with Ben [Sesko] and having the character to come on, miss one and score one shows he kept calm. It was a fantastic finish, one that mattered even more and had even bigger emotion to it, so he will remember that for some time.”

 Carrick on whether picking up points in the not-so ‘big games’ is important: “This was a big game for us. They are a good team and they are close behind us in the league. I think this ‘big game’ thing is all part of the narrative. Every game is a big game and we have to treat it like that. Next week we move on, but today was a tough one. It was even tougher because everyone expected that going into the game it would be different. But we didn’t, we got our players mentality and physically right and we got there in the end.

Manchester United striker Benjamin Sesko, speaking to Sky Sports after scoring the winning goal: “That was unbelievable. Scoring at home and scoring the winner is unbelievable. I’ve been dreaming about that and dreaming that I can do that. We all know as a team how important these results are. We are on a really great run right now and we are just hoping that we can continue to work hard like that to win games. I’m really happy that I could help the team out. We can continue our streak now.”

On Michael Carrick’s message to the team about playing with freedom and enjoying playing for Manchester United: “It’s true, he has said these things many times to the team. That’s exactly what we are doing. But it’s not just that, you can see how much we work hard for each other without the ball and that also contributes to good results in the end. The work rate is definitely different. Everyone is on point and covering their spaces. In the end, that’s what counts.

“The aim is to continue like this. We want to focus on our work and what we have to do. We have work hard like we are and focus in every moment. All of this is going to lead to great results.”

On his team-mate Casemiro: “He is an unbelievable player, a legend. It is nice to play with him and it is also nice to listen to his advice. His work rate is unbelievable and he gives all his teams a boost. We are grateful to have him with us.”

Related TopicsEnglish Premier LeaguefeaturedFulhamManchester United

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