Chelsea striker Diego Costa has lost his appeal against an FA charge for stamping on Liverpool midfielder Emre Can and will now serve a three-match ban.
The FA decided to take retrospective action against the Spanish international after referee Michael Oliver reviewed the video footage of Costa stamping on the former Bayer Leverkusen man in the second leg of Chelsea’s League Cup semi-final tie on Tuesday at Stamford Bridge and deemed it to be violent conduct on the part of the player.
With Chelsea’s blessing Costa appealed against the charge terming the stamping incident to be an accident, but the FA have thought otherwise and the player will now serve a three-match ban starting against Manchester City tomorrow.
Costa will also miss Chelsea’s away trip to Aston Villa next weekend and their home clash against Everton the following week.
The FA statement read: “Diego Costa will serve a three-match suspension with immediate effect after a charge of violent conduct against him was found proven by an Independent Regulatory Commission on Friday 30 January 2015.
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“The Chelsea forward had denied the charge in relation to an on-field incident involving Liverpool’s Emre Can which occurred in the 12th minute of the League Cup semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday 27 January 2015.
“The incident was not seen by the match officials but caught on video.”
The news will be a blow to Chelsea, however with Jose Mourinho having cancelled his press conference before the Manchester City game, the Portuguese will not be questioned about the affair.
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