Chelsea striker Diego Costa. PHOTO/AFP
LONDON, April 1 – Chelsea striker Diego Costa has been given a further one-match ban, fined Sh2.8 million (£20,000) and warned as to his future behaviour after admitting a charge of improper conduct following his red card at Everton last month, the Football Association announced Friday.
Costa was sent off for the first time in his Chelsea career in the FA Cup quarter-final loss and given an automatic two-match ban, ruling him out of both the Blues’ draw with West Ham and this Saturday’s Premier League match against Aston Villa.
Now Costa, who had no case to answer over suggestions he bit Everton midfielder Gareth Barry or made an inappropriate gesture to Everton fans, will also miss the April 9 match at Swansea after incurring an additional suspension for his aggressive protest to referee Michael Oliver regarding his dismissal at Goodison Park.
“Following an independent regulatory commission hearing on Thursday (March 31, 2016), Chelsea’s Diego Costa has been given a one-match suspension, fined £20,000 and warned as to his future conduct.”
“The forward admitted a charge of improper conduct in relation to his behaviour after he was shown a second yellow card in the FA Cup sixth-round tie on March 12, 2016 at Goodison Park.
“This suspension will follow immediately on the conclusion of the player’s current ban.”
Costa’s automatic ban was two games as it was considered to be his second dismissal of the season after he was handed a retrospective three-match ban for clashes with Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel in September.
Spain forward Costa has scored 11 goals in his last 16 games for Chelsea and with the reigning Premier League champions currently tenth in the table and long out of the title race, interim manager Guus Hiddink said Friday the final eight games of the season might be a good time for the London club to experiment.
“We now have eight games coming up, and there’s not much to win for Chelsea anymore. There might be some time for experiments,” the Dutchman said.
