Saturday afternoon’s loss to Chelsea left no doubt in anyone’s mind; Diego Costa is disgusting should have been sent off.
The way he behaves on the pitch, as a professional footballer, is beyond belief. So much so that his own teammate has branded him a cheat.
“We’re not surprised because we know Diego,” Kurt Zouma admitted to BeIN Sport after Chelsea’s 2-0 win. “Everyone knows Diego and this guy likes to cheat a lot and put the opponent out of his game.”
“That happened in the game but he’s a really nice guy. We’re proud to have him, like the other players, and we’re happy to win this game today.”
The defender opened the scoring on Saturday but wasn’t exactly without controversy himself, having grabbed Arsenal defender Gabriel around the throat.
Apparently throat grabs are ok too @FA? #Zoumapic.twitter.com/Iy1oG3EPdk
— Arsenal Australia (@AussieArsenal) September 19, 2015
Costa struck Laurent Koscielny in the face twice shortly before half-time, before hitting the French centre-half in the chest. Earlier in the game he had already dived and asked for Francis Coquelin to be booked, but Mike Dean ignored him.
The striker continued to embroil himself in controversy, scratching Gabriel’s next during an altercation. Eventually, the Brazilian responded and was sent off.
Arsenal can’t excuse the behaviour of their own players, but the referee could at least act on the behaviour of the opposition. That Chelsea’s own player can admit that Costa is a cheat but referees remain unwilling to act is absolutely ridiculous.