Former Premier League referee details how Fulham should be punished after Manchester United chaos

Former Premier League referee Graham Poll insists that Fulham should be heavily punished by the Football Association following the chaotic scenes that unfolded during the second half of their 3-1 FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.

After taking a deserved 50th-minute lead through striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, Fulham lost their heads with a little under 20 minutes of normal time left on the clock. After United winger Jadon Sancho had rounded goalkeeper Bernd Leno and saw a goal-bound effort blocked on the line by Willian's outstretched arm, referee Chris Kavanagh, following a VAR intervention, was left with no choice but to award the Reds a penalty and send Willian off.

The decision resulted in Mitrovic failing to control his emotions, shoving Kavanagh and getting up in his face to protest about the decision. He joined Willian in being sent off, as was boss Marco Silva for his protests on the touchline ahead of Willian being dismissed.

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Those 60 seconds of madness gave United the platform they needed to get back into the contest, flipping the game on its head thanks to goals from Bruno Fernandes (2) and Marcel Sabitzer. However, Fulham's failure to keep their emotions in check was the dominant talking point after the game, and Poll, who officiated in the Premier League between 1993 and 2007, is adamant that they must be heavily punished by the governing body.

"Fulham should be charged and heavily sanctioned by the Football Association after disgraceful scenes at Old Trafford," Poll told bettingsites.co.uk. "Fulham were leading 1-0 at the time when everything got out of hand for them in the FA Cup