Fulham hoping Arteta and Guardiola can save them as Marco Silva aims to dodge huge ban over Man Utd row

FULHAM are ready to turn to the history books in a bid to avoid a lengthy ban for boss Marco Silva.

Silva, 45, has admitted a misconduct charge for comments aimed at ref Chris Kavanagh when he was sent off during his team’s FA cup defeat at Manchester United last month.

The Portuguese is heading for his second touchline ban of the season but has already apologised for the remarks.

Fulham accept their head coach must be punished.

But there are fears Silva will be made an example of as manager behaviour becomes a growing issue in the game.

In 2018 then-Arsenal manager Unai Emery received just an £8,000 fine for kicking a water bottle into the crowd during a match against Brighton – hitting a spectator.

Pep Guardiola was not even charged earlier this year when he booted a water bottle into the Leeds United dugout, striking a member of staff.

FA chiefs are growing increasingly concerned about dugout antics by managers.

They appealed to get Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp a one-game touchline ban for hurling abuse at a fourth official earlier this season when he was initially let off with just a £30,000 fine.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta publicly mocked referee Simon Hooper during his team’s 4-2 win at Aston Villa in February.

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Silva has been clobbered along with Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic who shoved Kavanagh during a heated rant in the same game.

Fulham can point to at least half a dozen incidents where players laid hands on the referee but were not banned stretching back to the turn of the millennium.