The FA has charged nearly everyone for the first red card incident during Saturday’s Chelsea-Arsenal clash
With referee Mike Dean’s report now in, the Football Association (FA) have released a statement to announce that all four of Chelsea FC, Arsenal, Diego Costa and Gabriel Paulista will be charged for a variety of crimes believed to have been committed during the weekend’s contest.
In an ugly and relatively distasteful incident, Costa put his hands on Laurent Koscielny’s face before squaring up to the Frenchman. A chest bump sent the Arsenal player to the floor which led to Gabriel getting involved. After a booking was dished out to Gabriel and Costa, the former flicked a leg out at the latter near the halfway line. Dean sent the defender off for his actions.
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The incident was a turning point in the game and allowed the Blues to take control. However, many felt that Costa should have been punished for his initial confrontation with Koscielny. With calls for retrospective action, the key was whether the officials had seen the incident live. If Dean were to write in his report that his team had missed Costa’s flailing arm, the FA would be able to take action. As a result of this news, one can assume that this was indeed the case.
"Diego Costa has been charged for an alleged act of violent conduct which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video. The Chelsea forward was involved in an incident with Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny in the 43rd minute of the game."
Chelsea fans have been quick to call out the FA for what is perceived as a lack of consistency. They have been vocal in citing numerous incidents down the years that should have warranted bans. However, the point to remember is that the FA is only authorised to take action if the match officials have not seen the skirmish.
In most of the cases that the fans are moaning about, the referee has evidently confirmed in his report that he did see the incident and thus everyone must live with whatever action the official took at the time on the pitch. Consequently, the standard of officiating should be more in the firing line rather than the integrity of the country’s football governors.
With regard to the other three charged parties, Gabriel has been cited for his petulance in the aftermath of his dismissal while the general behaviour of the players have brought both clubs into trouble as well.
"Arsenal defender Gabriel has been charged with improper conduct for his behaviour following his dismissal…Finally, both clubs have been charged for failing to control their players under FA Rule E20."
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It has also surfaced that Arsenal have appealed their defender’s sending off while Santi Cazorla has been warned for his fractious reaction to his red card.
Costa faces a potential three-match ban (which at this point looks likely) while the clubs will most certainly be served with fines. The Chelsea striker has until 6pm tomorrow (Tuesday 22nd) to object while the others have until 6pm on Thursday.
What do you think of the FA’s decision? How will Chelsea cope without their first-choice striker? Let us know in the comments below!
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