Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Mousa Dembele feels the FA wanted to set a precedent by dishing out harsh punishment for his eye gouge on Diego Costa earlier this month.
The 2-2 draw against Chelsea effectively ended Tottenham’s title aspirations on 2nd May, but the game is expected to be remembered for the physical nature of it and has already been described as the ‘Battle of Stamford Bridge’.
Dembele and Costa got into a violent altercation during the game and the midfielder was later charged for his conduct, resulting in a six-match ban for the midfielder.
The Belgian missed the last two games of Tottenham’s season, and while he admits that his behaviour was uncalled for, he still believes the FA were a bit too harsh on him in trying to set a precedent with their ruling.
Dembele was quoted as saying by Het Laatste Nieuws: “What I did was neither nice, nor fair, but it’s not my way.
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“I now have to miss four games at the start of the season, which is not good.
"That crabs movement was stupid on my part, and maybe the FA wanted to set a precedent.
“I thought I would get a suspension of three matches, because worse things have happened on the pitch.”
Tottenham missed Dembele’s presence in the last two games of the season as they lost both and surrendered the second place in the table to north London rivals Arsenal.
