Diego Costa Charged By FA For Violent Conduct Against Liverpool

Last night’s Capital One Cup semifinal between Chelsea FC and Liverpool was a testy and emotional affair. The match went in to extra time but tempers and passions went in to overdrive. One of the chief culprits for those flaring tempers was Chelsea FC’s feisty forward Diego Costa. The FA has decided to fine and possibly suspend Costa for his actions in the match.

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The Brazilian turned Spanish hitman was at the focal point of several incidents involving Liverpool centerbacks Martin Skrtel and Emre Can. In an earlier clash with Liverpool in the Premier League, Skrtel and Costa established themselves as fierce rivals and the match ended with Diego Costa getting his shirt torn nearly in half. This time around, Diego’s shirt was still intact after the match but his wallet and playing time may be docked.

The first incident involved Emre Can on the sideline where Diego Costa appeared to stamp on the German’s shin after they tussled for the ball after a throw in. Can was swinging his legs wildly and it could have been seen as an accident but there seemed to be a little bit more force than needed when Costa stepped on his leg.

The referee or his assistants were in perfect position to make the call and give Costa the yellow or red the stamp deserved but neither of him took any action. This incident is the one the FA have decided to focus on and it is the action for which Costa is being charged.

The statement from the FA regarding the incidents involving Diego Costa:

"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 at Stamford Bridge 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."

The second incident involved Martin Skrtel and it was one of many clashes between the two hot tempered players. Diego Costa was chasing down a ball towards the Liverpool touchline and Skrtel slid in ahead of him to send the ball behind for a corner. As he was sliding, Skrtel kicked out at Costa and the striker ended up stepping on the Slovak defender’s foot.

That incident occurred at full speed and Skrtel placed his feet in Costa’s path and it would be very hard to try and prove intent there. So the FA has decided not to charge Costa for that incident because of that exact reason but it was the latest in what is becoming a great individual rivalry between two players.

So with the charges being levied against Diego Costa and the short turnaround time for the appeal, it is looking more and more likely that he will miss Saturday’s clash against Manchester City. There is a chance that he may be fined and not suspended but that is very unlikely.