Michael Oliver claimed not to have seen the incident in his refereeing report, meaning that retrospective action against Costa became a possibility. After being hit with a violent conduct charge, the Spaniard will likely be banned for three games – ruling him out of the top of the table clash with Manchester City on Saturday.
For me this is a complete injustice. Let’s start with the basics of this ‘incident.’ Diego Costa did not stamp on anybody, he purposely trod on Can’s ankle. This sort of behaviour is inexcusable on a football field, but a stamp is a far more malicious and carries an increased risk of causing injury.
The severity of this incident does not measure up to Sergio Agüero’s potential leg-breaker on Mark Noble earlier this season. Agüero is also a repeat offender, having flew in with two feet into David Luiz’s buttocks a couple of years back. After neither incident did Agüero face any retrospective action – he was not punished.
This is because the referees claimed they saw the incidents and dealt with them at the time. This is the part which makes my brain bleed. Due to the inadequacy of referees and how they inexplicably let Agüero remain on the pitch – he got let off.
Michael Oliver was not blessed with such astute vision. He failed to see the Costa incident, which is excusable as he was some way off the altercation. This is not my issue, how can the FA charge one but not the other? How?
This highlights a complete flaw in the disciplinary system if two players, committing similar ‘crimes’ are met with completely different punishments – or no punishment at all.
Alternatively, it confirms what José Mourinho has been saying for the past month; there is a campaign against Chelsea. Costa’s actions were plastered over the back of every major newspaper, this media agenda against the club is the worst kept secret in the country at the moment. However, it becomes an issue when the media’s outrage forces the FA into taking action against Costa.
