Costa Hit With FA Charge  (Sky Sports)

Chelsea forward Diego Costa has been charged by the FA following Saturday's 2-0 FA Cup defeat at Everton.

The Spain international stands accused of improper conduct for his behaviour after he was shown a second yellow card by referee Michael Oliver.

Costa has until 6pm on Thursday to respond to the charge and has until Wednesday to provide his observations to the FA in relation to an alleged gesture he made towards Everton fans as he left the pitch at half-time.

The 27-year-old was dismissed in the 84th minute of the quarter-final tie, following a clash with experienced former England midfielder Gareth Barry.

Having already been booked for a foul on Barry earlier, Costa retaliated when he was challenged by the Everton man.

Costa put his head towards Barry's neck and it was speculated he may even have bitten him, although Barry confirmed on Sunday that no biting had taken place.

However, having been shown a second yellow card by Oliver, Costa refused to leave the pitch immediately, instead confronting the official.

The FA has decided his behaviour warrants an improper conduct charge and Costa could face an increase in his automatic one-match suspension.

If found guilty of the improper conduct charge he could be handed a one-match ban, and a charge and further one-match ban are a possible consequence of the alleged gesture towards Everton supporters.

Costa, who joined Chelsea from Atletico Madrid ahead of their title-winning campaign last season, has twice before been handed three-match retrospective bans by the FA.

He was adjudged to have deliberately trodden on the ankle of Liverpool's Emre Can during a Capital One Cup semi-final in January 2015 and was sanctioned again after a clash with Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny during a Premier League game last September.