FA prepare to take action against Aleksandar Mitrovic following his shove on referee Chris Kavanagh

The FA are set to take action against Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic after he was sent off for pushing referee Chris Kavanagh in his side’s 3-1 FA Cup defeat by Manchester United on Sunday.

Mitrovic fired the Cottagers in front early in the second half at Old Trafford, but the game was turned on its head when Willian conceded a penalty and was shown a red card for blocking Jadon Sancho’s shot on the goal-line with his arm.

After Kavanagh gave Willian his marching orders following VAR intervention, he was confronted by an incensed Mitrovic, who shoved him and continued to shout in his face.

Kavanagh immediately produced a red card, while he also sent off Fulham boss Marco Silva for his protests on the touchline.

An FA spokesperson has confirmed to Sportsmail that they are awaiting Kavanagh’s match report, but Mitrovic is set to be punished for his behaviour.

He continued to rant in the referee’s face after being shown a red card and is set to face action

Bruno Fernandes escaped punishment for barging a linesman less than two weeks ago

Bruno Fernandes netted twice in United’s comeback win on Sunday, yet was involved in a comparable incident himself earlier this month during his team’s humiliating 7-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool.

The Portuguese star was frustrated as he struggled to get the ball back from Trent Alexander-Arnold after it went out of play, before taking out his anger on the linesman by barging him in the back.

However, Fernandes escaped punishment as referee Andy Madley deemed the incident was not worthy of making it into his match report.

The FA have the power to take retrospective action in ‘extraordinary’ circumstances, a spokesperson confirmed, though they did not feel Fernandes’ push fell into this category and opted against taking further action.

Mitrovic was defended by his manager after the game, but now faces a wait to see whether he will be hit with a lengthy ban.

Paolo Di Canio was given an 11-match suspension for his infamous shove on referee Paul Alcock which sent the official tumbling to the ground during a game between Sheffield Wednesday and Arsenal in 1998.

Kavanagh stayed on his feet on Sunday, but Mitrovic’s shove and subsequent barking in his face looks likely to land him in hot water with the FA in the coming days.

Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey is calling for the Serbian to receive a similar punishment to Di Canio, claiming his shove on Kavanagh is deserving of a ten-game ban.

Members of Fulham’s coaching staff had to escort Mitrovic from the field at Old Trafford

‘Mitrovic has technically assaulted Kavanagh by shoving his elbow into him and has then gone at the official with a volley of abuse,’ Halsey said in his latest column for The Sun.

‘The FA have a duty of care to referees and we cannot have this at any level of football.

‘They have to set an example by sanctioning Mitrovic heavily and I would expect both clubs to be charged with failing to control their players.

‘Mitrovic should be hit with a ten-game ban for his part in the madness.’