Diego Costa Suspended for 3 Matches by FA: Latest Details and Reaction

Chelsea striker Diego Costa has been suspended for three matches after being charged with violent conduct following the Blues' recent 2-0 win over Arsenal.

The Football Association released a statement on Tuesday regarding its retroactive decision:

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An FA charge against Diego Costa for violent conduct not seen by the match officials but caught on video has been found proven following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing.

The Chelsea forward will, therefore, serve the standard penalty of a three-match suspension with immediate effect.

The charge, which the player denied, was in relation to an incident involving Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny in the 43rd minute of the game on Saturday [19 September 2015].

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Chelsea's response was brief, per their official website: "We are extremely disappointed with the FA Regulatory Commission's decision to suspend Diego Costa. We will await their written reasons before commenting further."

Costa was seen to raise his hands to the defender's face and appeared to aim a slap at him. He then squared up to the Frenchman, who went to the ground under a slight push.

The Spaniard was booked by referee Mike Dean during the match, but that was for his clash with Gunners centre-back Gabriel Paulista, who responded angrily to Costa's scramble with Koscielny.

The decision to hand Costa a three-game ban hasn't gone over well with ex-Manchester United defender-turned-Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville, who feels Costa's outbursts warranted two yellows at best:

Gabriel was eventually sent off for kicking out at Costa, the Brazilian clearly frustrated by the former Atletico Madrid man's constant jibing and ribbing, which also included an apparent scratching incident, per MailOnline Sport:

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Did Diego Costa leave scratch marks on Gabriel's neck? http://t.co/9lf3Ndwxrk pic.twitter.com/ylBjoVejYL

— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) September 20, 2015"

However, Gabriel has now seen his red card overturned, per the FA's official website, casting an even more unfavourable light on the Blues front man for the role he played in the bust-up.

Chelsea may have come away with a vital three points and their second win of the season, but ex-Gunners goalkeeper David Seaman suggested to Omnisport that Dean's decision was too severe, per Goal's Alex Fisher:

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Gabriel got suckered into it. He made a silly decision with a flick, but the most annoying thing about it is a player can get a straight red for a little flick like that.

Over the top tackles are not getting punished nowhere near as badly as that, it's just embarrassing, as a footballer I was embarrassed.

The Rugby World Cup is on and they are flying into each other, and we're sending players off for little flicks. It just really got me angry… and I don't get angry often!

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James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo opted to praise the FA for its stance on the situation in light of video evidence, preparing for the inevitable reaction to come from manager Jose Mourinho:

The Koscielny incident is what prompted Costa to be retrospectively charged, and certainly he seemed deserving of greater punishment at the time, per Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe:

Clearly, the FA feels the same, and Costa will now miss the Capital One Cup tie with Walsall on Wednesday evening, as well as Premier League fixtures against Newcastle United and Southampton.

Mourinho will look to on-loan striker Radamel Falcao and Loic Remy to lead his line in Costa's absence, with the Spain international earning a raft of unwanted attention following this latest flare of emotion.