Chelsea Reportedly 'Furious' at Diego Costa Ban, Unhappy with Gabriel Clearance

Chelsea are reportedly “furious” after their centre-forward Diego Costa was handed a three-game ban following his clash with Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny.

According to Neil Ashton of the Daily Mail, the Blues are “angry” at the decision to ban Costa and with the referee on the day, Mike Dean. The official claimed he would have sent the Spanish international off for his clash with Koscielny during the first half when viewing the incident in hindsight.

“Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho claimed Dean had seen the incident and decided that his striker had acted within the rules of the game,” noted Ashton. “Mourinho also named Costa man of the match.”

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The anger in part seems to lie with the fact that Dean changed his mind and decided he did not see the flashpoint. To add fuel to the fire, the incident that saw Gabriel Paulista dismissed, in which he appeared to kick out at Costa, was deemed “inconclusive,” meaning the defender will not face a ban for violent conduct.

“We are extremely disappointed with the FA Regulatory Commission’s decision to suspend Diego Costa,” a statement from Chelsea read, per Ashton’s piece. “We will await their written reasons before commenting further.”

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Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe ran the rule over the unsavoury scenes, assessing whether or not Costa deserved a ban for his conduct:

The Arsenal man certainly feels as though the right action has been taken. He posted the following on his Instagram account in the wake of his reprieve:

Although Chelsea won the game 2-0 on the day, it’s easy to see why manager Jose Mourinho and plenty of others at the club would be disappointed with the verdict. Costa did push the boundaries in his battle with Koscielny and Gabriel, but they were not picked up on the day by the referee.

Meanwhile, Gabriel’s offence took place right in front of the ref, who punished the defender’s flick of his boot. Gunners boss Arsene Wenger initially criticised his player in his post-match media commitments, insisting he has to deal with provocation from opponents and “be professional,” per Cross.

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However, according to John Cross of the Daily Mirror, Arsenal provided evidence there was no contact, which was central to three-game ban being overturned.

There could be more controversy to come yet too. Gabriel could be banned for a separate charge, after he refused to leave the field of play in the wake of his dismissal, with the defender noticeably displeased with the conduct of the Chelsea striker and the referee’s decision.

As the Guardian’s Dominic Fifield notes, at this juncture, the whole process is becoming a bit of a farce:

The referee probably could have handled the situation a little better on reflection, with a decisive hand surely the best antidote to quell tensions which were running high.

Dean not seeing the incident involving Costa and Koscielny left the matter open to interpretation, and it appears to be for that reason the striker has been banned retrospectively. With Mourinho set to speak with the media later in the week, it’ll be intriguing to hear his thoughts on the matter.