Fulham boss Marco Silva blasted referee Darren Bond for failing to red card Blues full-back Leif Davis during the first half of this afternoon’s 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage.

In the 27th minute Davis, who later conceded the second penalty from which the Whites snatched their point, ran across to halt Harry Wilson’s progress as the Wales international threatened to break through behind the Blues’ backline. Referee Bond showed a yellow card.

The home support chanted their dissatisfaction with the referee as he left the field at the end and Silva could see their point.

“I’m on the same page as the Fulham fans,” Silva said. “They go in the same direction and it was a difficult afternoon for the ref and was hard to explain some decisions.

“It’s a clear red card. We cannot control it. The performance from the referee was not at the level the Premier League demands, in my opinion.

“When [Wilson] touched the ball he was going one on one with the goalkeeper. It’s difficult to understand.

“It was something I can’t control but I don’t want to get in trouble so it’s better to stop in this moment.”

The Portuguese head coach was frustrated by his team’s overall display but still felt they deserved to take all three points.

“We have to be disappointed with our performance, definitely,” he insisted. “It was a very good first 30 minutes. We were the team in control and we had two or three clear chances to score, one with Raul [Jimenez], which was a great save from the goalkeeper.

“We didn’t give up many chances for them. With [Liam] Delap and [Sammie] Szmodics, they have players on the attacking line who are quick and can create moments around the box, but the reality is that before 1-0, they didn’t.

“We lost control of the game when we went behind 1-0. We were too soft with the way we defended that moment. It’s a mistake from us and they scored.

“The fighting spirit was there. Even in difficult circumstances with some decisions going against us, they showed the character.

“If somebody has to win the game, it should be ourselves. We created more chances, we were more on the front foot and we did everything apart from score more goals than Ipswich, so we have to be disappointed to not win the game.”

Jimenez’s goals were his 54th and 55th in the Premier League, making him the highest-scoring Mexican in English top-flight history ahead of former Manchester United and West Ham forward Chicharito.

“It’s an incredible achievement,” Silva added. “I’m really pleased for him because we all know he had a really bad moment [with his head injury], not just in his career but in his life. He was really down when we signed him, but we showed trust in him and it’s paying off.

“The first two or three months at the club, he was not scoring and everyone was asking why we took the decision to bring him into the football club. We kept trusting him, he kept working really hard and it’s so nice to see him achieve an incredible number.

“It’s an honour for him to achieve these numbers and he will be in Premier League history for many, many years. Let’s hope there’s much more to come from him and I’m here to help him.

“It’s not just the goals today. The way he won fouls, the way he was always there to help the team. We changed his position in the second half and he did really well. Let’s hope he can get even more confidence in the future.”

TWTD

grumpyoldman added 07:45 - Jan 6 Does he also agree that Wison should have been sent off for calling the ref "a Fu**ing cheat" before VAR gave them their first penalty?
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tractorboybig added 08:14 - Jan 6 if he was sent off would probably done us a favour
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johnwarksshorts added 08:15 - Jan 6 Yes he's a whinging sod. But if it had been Delap through on goal we'd all been shouting for a red card. Glad we got away with one though. Can't afford to lose Davies for any games. So frustrating that we gave away two stupid pens.
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Cafe_Newman added 09:18 - Jan 6 Imagine being a Fulham fan and having to watch that kind of petulance from your manager every time a decision doesn't go the way you want. Poor sods.
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BobbyBell added 09:28 - Jan 6 The Fulham players were constantly berating, abusing and surrounding the ref. Their manager was constantly arguing with the fourth official. The FA will do nothing about the behaviour as usual. Just look at what Cunha got aware with for a physical assault on a non playing member of ITFC staff, The Premier League is full of self entitled moaning idiots who act like spoiled children and the FA thinks it's ok.

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Europablue added 09:34 - Jan 6 Karlosfandangal I thought surrounding the ref was supposed to get you a yellow card, but apparently not with that ref. He made a lot of poor call early on, like giving throws the wrong way and giving free kicks or not giving free kicks. It seemed like he got everything wrong for a little bit. Each penalty was the right decision eventually, so no complaints there.
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Europablue added 09:40 - Jan 6 Mariner1974 Exactly, being a good manager is all about getting the best from your players. As much as I love our players, they aren't good enough to be challenging for the league title, so we focus on what we do best. The first half we didn't look in danger. Silva is a tactically astute, but a poor role model and a moaner. He clearly understood that his midfield was getting overrun and we were dealing with everything in the first half. They were crossing constantly and our defenders won everything apart from the Jimenez chance that looked like he fouled Greaves. Watching that first half, you could tell that we implemented our plan to a T. We were fortunate to get our goal because it was basically an assist from their defender, but we pressurized their defense the whole half.

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EricGatesShinpad added 09:49 - Jan 6 Bore Off. I used to have a lot of time for Fulham and their manager but after his display yesterday I think they are just another Prem team with dubious values... A real shame. The way they bombarded the ref constantly was just not on... I am glad we don't do that and so it should remain!
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mathiemagic added 10:33 - Jan 6 Obviously Silva cant see covering defenders !
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Runner added 10:39 - Jan 6 It goes both ways mate, you are not of the right quality manager for the premium league.
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ArnieM added 11:04 - Jan 6 Yes, Fulham had the lions share of possession, but what so many pundits, fans and opposition managers seem to forget or simply ignore, is WE allowed them this possession by opting to sit deep and just say , “come on then, do yer best to get past us”…it was our TACTIC, and Fulham like Chelsea failed miserably to beat it. So how about so bloody credit you so called tv pundits???

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oldegold added 11:14 - Jan 6 Clearly someone needs to teach silva the rules of the games before he opens his mouth. I thought Fulham had the lions share of decisions going their way and 2 penalties to boot..even though for the first one their player made a theatrical fall of it. However, if Town continue to play like they did in West London, we will have a fighting chance to stay up...well done the Tractor Boys

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carlo88 added 12:03 - Jan 6 Very different to Maresca's comments after the match
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bluebullet29l added 12:15 - Jan 6 And why wasn't wilson sent off for calling the ref 'a fu#king cheat' yes I can lip read. He seems to choose to forget about that. Idiot.
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BlueWax added 17:05 - Jan 6 Apologies BobbyBell, I think.my.fat finger.marked you down on error. I make you right, the Cunha debacle absolutely stinks and us fans let alone opposing clubs get to hear exactly why only after a drawn out affair (in which in the meantime he contributed to vital points gained for Wolves) did he only.get a pathetic two.match ban, 1 prem! Our security guard should take this guy to court, or has he been seen right? Mike Dean was asked why 2 match ban, he replied by saying he doesn't understand the decision!! FA need to be transparent and.come down on players and managers who rant and rave and even worse, commit abh!!!!

0

blueboy1981 added 17:06 - Jan 6 Why do people need to be abusive and name call ? The issue was a 50/50 decision and could have gone either way, we had the rub of the green in that, and Davis was fortunate to be fair that it went in his favour. But he didn’t learn from that, and gave away a ridiculous penalty, along with likewise from tha Skipper to LOSE us two, what may well prove to be extremely valuable points ! No amount of abuse and name calling of Silva or Wilson will change why we gave those points away. Grow up Adults - if that’s what you are. If Youngsters - sadly par for the course, for some, I guess - but stress not all !

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budgieplucker added 20:28 - Jan 6 Unfortunately a light touch and a dive nowadays wins you the decision in most situations, given that Delap has won us two penalties inside a week we can hardly complain about the two given against us and indeed Kieron shows much more measured response in saying that he didn’t have a problem with the penalties. I am not sure the ref should be given a hard time, maybe he got a few minor calls wrong as indeed most refs do, like me he perhaps struggled to relate Morsy’s very minor contact with Wilson’s actions of being hit by a juggernaut, I have to say until I saw the reply I wasn’t even sure if there was any contact by Morsy, I couldn’t believe he would have been so stupid to attempt anything when well behind the ball and covering defenders between the attacker and the goal, the replay did to my surprise actually show there was some albeit minimal contact but in fairness all 3 penalties were given so there was consistency. As for the potential sending off, to be fair again Leif may have been a tad lucky but looking at it again there were elements of uncertainty about Leif being the last man, O’Shea’s likelihood of being able to retrieve the situation and actually how far the ball had been knocked forward and whether the attacker may have lost close control of the ball. Without VAR forensics the ref made the only decision he could do to the uncertainty of the situation. I personally don’t like to see any player sent off unless violent conduct or reckless challenges or second booking for further or constant infringements. I think Robertson of Liverpool was very harshly treated in the Liverpool V Fulham match where he had his back to the attacker and was about to receive the ball and was in the motion of playing it when the attacker slipped in front of him from behind, there was no intent to take the man out and clearly he was unsighted and had every reason to believe he could play the ball. Strictly from the rules he did foul the attacker and was the last defender, for me it destroys the spirit of the game when something like that happens and the player has to go, referees should have some discretion to apply some judgement of whether he believed there was any recklessness or intent. Needless to say Silva accepted that decision to give his side an advantage and that was one that went in his favour, personally I wouldn’t want to see a fellow professional sent off in that situation, but the endemic cheating in the game is now considered an art to perfect to gain an advantage. I for one am proud that Kieron by and large shows great respect and decency and that he has discarded perhaps some of the more unsavoury things that he encountered as Mourinho’s coach.

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Tampa_Florida_Blue added 21:45 - Jan 6 Is he not the manager who cried for a week the last time we meet at Portman rd ????
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suffolkpunch1978 added 01:49 - Jan 7 Eeyore, this group is nothing but blue tinted glasses. I thought it was a straight red as well and if it was the other way around they'd say the same. I love my my football club and always will...... But social media is pathetic.
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