Alan
Curbishley believes Diego Costa should have been sent off following a stray
elbow on Wes Brown during Chelsea’s 0-0 draw away to Sunderland last
Saturday.
Costa picked up his fifth booking of the season after colliding with Brown
and will be suspended for Chelsea’s game against Tottenham at Stamford
Bridge on Wednesday.
The game, which saw five players booked, was the first time Chelsea have
failed to score this season after a strong defensive performance from
Sunderland.
“I think that Costa just overstepped the mark there,” said Curbishley,
speaking on the Morning View on Sky Sports News HQ. “You can see clearly for
me he’s caught Wes Brown and he’s lucky to still be on the pitch.
"I think Sunderland decided they were not going to give any quarter to
Costa, they were going to get aggressive with him as he dishes it out
himself as we seen with this challenge.
Rough
"It was an aggressive game. Sunderland decided they were going to get into
Chelsea faces. But I think the referee took into consideration the way the
game was being played."
The Chelsea striker was involved in two physical incidents during the game,
clashing with Sunderland captain John O’Shea in the first half before
catching Brown when challenging for a header in the second.
“You saw the challenge on Costa from John O’Shea,” he added. “Sunderland
were going to rough it up a little bit and I think the referee allowed a few
things to go on which a lot of us like to see, you like to see the game
flow."
And Curbishley conceded O’Shea was equally fortunate to remain on the field
after a tangle with the Spain international.
“I think if the referee had seen that clearly, John O’Shea would have been
in a lot of trouble,” said Curbishley.
“The first challenge is knee high, the second one he's kicked him up the
backside. O’Shea was lucky to get away with this challenge.”
top