Jose Mourinho Blasts Football Association over Gabriel's Role in Diego Costa Ban

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has hurled criticism at the Football Association following its decision to retrospectively hand Diego Costa a three-game ban in relation to his clash with Arsenal's Gabriel Paulista.

The Gunners centre-back was sent off for kicking out at Costa during his side's 2-0 defeat to Chelsea on Saturday but saw his red card rescinded earlier this week.

Alastair Grant/Associated Press

Per Paul Wilson and David Hytner of the Guardian, Mourinho thinks the action may be the beginning of a dangerous disciplinary trend: “I don’t really want to speak about the subject but we learned something this week. Now we know that retaliation is officially allowed.”

The comments came in the wake of Chelsea's 4-1 win over Walsall, where Costa served the first of a three-match suspension handed to him by the Football Association on Tuesday in light of video evidence reviewed after the match.

However, Mourinho opted to remain silent on that particular subject for fear of further weakening his team's chances by getting suspended himself, per Wilson and Hytner's report: “I don’t comment, if I reveal my true feelings a big suspension will be waiting for me. The team has already lost a big player, they don’t need to lose their manager as well. I’m happy to remain calm and quiet.”    

Reserve striker Loic Remy was on the scoresheet during the Capital One Cup victory over Walsall on Wednesday, as were summer signings Kenedy and Pedro.

It's been a difficult week for the Stamford Bridge boss, who has also had to contend against the resignation of former first-team doctor Eva Carneiro, per the Daily Mail's Sam Cunningham:

It makes for a gloomy heading over the west London club as things stand, with the reigning champions having seen their options limited not long after making a lacklustre start to the season even with their best players.

Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was merely left disappointed the FA's job enforcing the rules came too late—otherwise his team might have come away with a different result on Saturday.

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

Per the Guardian's report, Wenger said the governing body ultimately decided "what they should have done during the game," considering Costa's rough-house tactics were quite clear.

Mourinho will look to Remy and on-loan striker Radamel Falcao to fill a void for the remaining two games of Costa's suspension, but it appears the Portuguese's greatest concern lies in how the enforcement of football's laws is transforming.