Diego Costa: Chelsea striker says he 'did not bite' Gareth Barry

March 12, 2016 EPL 0 Comments

"But Diego was also very clear that he did not bite him at any point during that altercation."
Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink claims Everton deliberately provoked Costa, who had a running battle with Barry throughout the tie.
In the incident that led to Costa's second yellow card, the 27-year-old confronted Barry, moving his head towards him and in the direction of his neck.
"He was chased a bit in the game by Everton. They went after him. They knew it. It is within the rules," said Hiddink.
"As a referee you have to protect the situation, but knowing and feeling this atmosphere."
Hiddink, who managed Chelsea to victory over Everton in the 2009 FA Cup final, said he had not seen the incident that led to Costa's dismissal.
"I try to be fair in my judgement and it is difficult for me to say yes or no so I don't want to give judgement on this," he said.

Will Costa face retrospective punishment?

Former Premier League referee Howard Webb told BBC Radio 5 live: "I've watched the incident back and I am pretty confident that [referee] Michael Oliver has shown Costa a second yellow card for adopting an aggressive attitude.
"There is no way Michael Oliver can see what happens then with the neck - if it is a bite or not. He couldn't see it anyway as he is looking at the other side of Gareth Barry.
"Two things I think will happen now. I think the FA will look at the footage so they can try and see if a bite has taken place.
"They will look for evidence, for Gareth Barry's reaction, for marks on the neck. They will then come to a judgement and that will go down as something unseen by Michael Oliver.
"Secondly, I'll be amazed if Costa is not punished for his reaction after the second yellow card. He fails to leave the field of play, he is aggressive again to Michael Oliver and referees are always told to report that situation. That can lead to another match ban.
"The only time you could be sent off for attempting to bite is if you make the action to bite and the other player pulls away.
"But it looks like he has thought about it but not gone through with it. From what I've seen of the footage, it is not sufficient to support a charge for violent conduct retrospectively."