PREMIER LEAGUE LEADERS Chelsea look set to be without leading goalscorer Diego Costa for their crucial clash with Manchester City this weekend.
The striker has been charged by the Football Association for violent conduct against Liverpool’s Emre Can in the side’s thrilling League Cup semi-final second leg clash at Stamford Bridge last night.
The FA released the following statement on its website:
“Diego Costa has been charged by The FA for violent conduct following an on-field incident which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video.
The charge is in relation to an incident involving the Chelsea forward and Liverpool’s Emre Can which occurred in the 12th minute of the League Cup semi-final second leg last night [Tuesday 27 January 2015].
The player has until 6pm on Thursday 29 January 2015 to respond to the charge.
Following a review of an incident during the game involving Costa and Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel, The FA will not be taking any further action.”
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An appeal is expected and the independent FA Commission is likely to sit on Friday to determine whether Costa will receive the usual three-game ban or if the punishment will be reduced.
As per the FA statement, Costa was also involved in an alleged stamping incident with Martin Skrtel later in the game though it’s been deemed an accidental collision.
Michael Oliver, the referee who took charge of last night’s spicy affair, confirmed to the FA that he had not seen the incidents. But, according to The Guardian, when asked what punishment he would’ve given had he done so, he acknowledged Costa’s stamp on Can was worthy of a red card for violent conduct.
How many games is Michael Oliver suspended for…? Awful display of refereeing. Retrospective punishment is pointless. It doesn’t benefit Liverpool in any way whatsoever. Man City are the major benefactors – lunacy prevails!
Karma. Who benefited when Suarez bit Ivanovic then equalised in the 96th min. Not chelsea. Swings & roundabouts.
Why don’t they just ban costa for the next two or three games Chelsea play against Liverpool??
mourinho just made it worse with his comments.if you stand on someone by accident you apologise to the guy and hold your hands up,he didn’t do that on the two occasions,hope he doesn’t have biting instincts.
That’s type of stuff just on acceptable….. It obvious what he is at, he’s hoping someone will punch him and get sent off.
It’s would be nice if some mid table veteran decided punch him on the last day of the season and then retire.
We can but hope…
They’re yar now Graham you can sleep tonight.
Andrew, its a shame, it should have been dealt with last night, but now its a public opinion court, and thats not right either. Costa has brought this on himself, but the punishment is being handled wrong…..
This Costa guy is a thug.
Well time to take Costa outta the auld fantasy football team for a few weeks :-P
Say what you want about Costa, call him a tramp or whatever…but you can’t deny his competitiveness. Or his ability.
You could say the same about Suarez, but he was crucified.
Well, when someone resorts to underhand practices it undermines their “competitiveness”- therefore you CAN deny it, because it’s no longer competing, it’s cheating. It’s mercenary behaviour.
BAZ6375 is on the money. Part of the nature of competing is a certain amount of guts to hold up your hands when you do wrong. Sure tons of ability, but gutless.
Oh man the tabloids would have all creamed themselves simultaneously had Suarez stamped on an opposing player & he would probably get a 10 match ban as well!!
Firstly lots of stuff wasn’t dealt with properly last night , and you can’t compare Costa and Suarez , Costa is a dirty horrible player that the game could do without but Suarez is a different kettle of fish altogether who is worse
Yet, both are superstars that kids talk about.
You lot make me sick ! Suarez got exactly what he deserved , he brought shame on your club and made a mockery of its history and yet you still defend him !!! Pathetic .
What the hell has that got to do with it , it’s doesn’t change who there are or change them more to the point
Fair point graham.
I remember Chelsea fans complaining for years about Luis Suarez. Now they know what it feels like to have a great, but idiotic talent in their side.
The lad seems to be a bit of a muppet, sure ya can’t be stamping on lads and get away with it, ya can’t
Campaign
Costa can only ever dream of having the talent Suarez has, costa runs around a lot, is a decent finisher and has a competitive nature. Suarez is a magnificent talent, has all the skill and vision in the world and is a lethal finisher. To compare the two is ridiculous
This thing of punishing players after games is ridiculous and biased, what Costa did was wrong and he should have been sent off for it but that is and should be entirely the responsibility of the Referee and his Officials. Football is being over-analysed far too much now and it’s being ruined because of it. Do Refs or Officials get banned for making bad decisions or mistakingly calling a player offside? No they don’t so why should players have to? And again I’m not defending Costa’s actions but I am a firm believer that what happens on the pitch should stay on the pitch!