Costa faces ban threat for ‘stamp’

Striker set to miss showdown with City

Diego Costa could miss Chelsea’s crucial clash with Manchester City this weekend after being charged with violent conduct by the Football Association.

Costa must answer the charge following his clash with Emre Can in Chelsea’s Capital One Cup semi-final second leg win over Liverpool on Wednesday night.

The striker’s apparent stamp on the Liverpool defender was missed by match officials and reviewed on video on Wednesday. Costa has until 6pm today to respond to the charge.

If Costa denies the charge, the appeal will be heard tomorrow and he would require the appeal commission to side with him in order to face City.

Either way, there will be a resolution before Saturday’s contest at Stamford Bridge. There is no right of appeal.

An FA statement read: “Diego Costa has been charged by The FA for violent conduct following an on-field incident which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video.

“The player has until 6pm on Thursday, January 29 2015 to respond to the charge.”

Costa faces no action for a similar incident involving Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel later in the match.

The Spanish international faces the prospect of a three-match ban, which would rule him out of Saturday’s Premier League top-of-the-table showdown with City as well as matches against Everton and Aston Villa.

The incident happened near the dugouts, but was missed by the officials. As the Capital One Cup is a Football League competition, the disciplinary process differs slightly from a Premier League match where a three-man panel of former referees would decide if he should be charged.

Referee Michael Oliver was asked by the FA if he or any of the officials saw the incident and, as they did not, footage was reviewed to determine if a sending-off offence had occurred.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, who earlier yesterday was fined £25,000 (€33,000) for claiming there was a “clear campaign” against the club. The Blues boss’ complaints following the draw at Southampton on December 28 were found to be improper and brought the game into disrepute. Regarding Costa, Mourinho insisted both stamps were “absolutely accidental”.

Costa’s Blues teammate Eden Hazard hailed Costa as an inspiration after the striker’s controversial role in helping the Blues to the Capital One Cup final. The uncompromising forward was a menace throughout.

“Even if he didn’t score against Liverpool, he gave his life,” said Hazard. “For us, for the players, when you play with him, it’s very good. We need him because he can score every minute, every second.”

For Liverpool, their trophy hopes now rely on the FA Cup, with Bolton waiting in a fourth-round replay. First the Reds play West Ham in the Premier League, where a top-four spot is the target.

Keeper Simon Mignolet told the Anfield club’s website: “The most important thing is that we have to go again on Saturday in the Premier League and then the FA Cup after that. We have to pick ourselves up and go again.”

l Manchester City’s hopes of seeing Yaya Toure and Wilfried Bony return for Saturday’s clash with Chelsea from the Africa Cup of Nations were dashed last night as Ivory Coast beat Cameroon 1-0 to qualify for the quarter-finals.