Referee
Michael Oliver will have the final say on whether Diego Costa is banned for
this weekend's game against Manchester City.
The Chelsea striker was accused of stamping on Liverpool's Emre Can at
Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night as his side came through a tight second leg
to reach the Capital One Cup final.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers afterwards said Costa was lucky to escape
punishment, a view shared by Thierry Henry and Jamie Redknapp in the Sky
Sports studio but not by Jose Mourinho.
Henry suggested "the ref didn’t see it, the linesman didn’t see it and the
fourth official didn’t see it", and if that is the case Costa could yet be
ruled out of the huge Saturday Night Football game against champions City.
Sky Sports understands Oliver will be asked by the Football Association on
Wednesday whether he or any of his colleagues saw the incident: if the
answer is 'no' that will open up the possibility of retrospective
punishment.
Under Premier League rules an independent three-man panel assesses video
replays before deciding on any action, but League Cup regulations are
different and the final decision is the referee's.
That means Oliver would be asked to assess the incident retrospectively. If
in his judgement Costa was guilty of a straight red-card offence the Spain
forward would be charged with violent conduct.
Costa would have until 6pm the following day to contest the decision, and a
hearing would then be fast-tracked. If found guilty he would receive an
automatic three-game ban missing the fixtures against City, Aston Villa and
Everton. Whatever the outcome, there would be a resolution before the visit
of Manuel Pellegrini's men.
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