Diego Costa has been given an eight-match ban after hurling insults at the referee’s mother in Atletico Madrid’s loss to Barcelona.
As if losing to Barcelona, and the league, wasn’t bad enough, Diego Costa has been dealt an eight-match ban after being sent off for insulting the referee’s mother. Atletico Madrid are sure to appeal the lengthy suspension and while it may very well be reduced, it’s likely we’ve either seen, or will see, the last of Diego Costa as an Atletico Madrid.
According to Marca, four of those games were for the insults towards the referee and the other four were for grabbing the official’s arm after he had been sent off.
On its surface, the suspension seems a bit much considering the different versions of what exactly was said. Gil Manzano, the referee, claims that Costa hurled obscenities about his mother while the player claims that he was insulting his own.
It’s fair to claim that Costa’s reputation probably played a hand in the suspension. He’s a player who’s easily provoked and one that can get under the opponent’s skin because of his antics on the pitch. He’s the prototypical “you hate him if you’re facing him but love him if he’s on your team” type of player. But that reputation follows you and it certainly did in this instance.
If the ban is held up, it means Diego Costa will miss the remaining seven games of the season and the first game next season. Whether it will be as an Atletico Madrid player remains to be seen. His move back to Atletico has not gone as both parties would have expected. He struggled to score and dealt with injuries upon his return. He slowly regained his form and was effective in some of their more important games. The obvious example being their win in the Champions League against Juventus.
At the same time, what makes him a good player has also cost Diego Simeone’s side. Going back to the Juventus game, he picked up a really dumb yellow card that saw him suspended for the return leg in Turin. We all know how that turned out. Against Barcelona, it left his team down to ten men. Barcelona went on to win the game late but prior to the sending off, it was a back-and-forth game where Atletico were playing quite well.
With Alvaro Morato now at the club, they may think that the former Real Madrid and Chelsea player is their striker going forward and that they can do without the potential headaches Diego Costa may bring. If Costa’s time is up, it will be a stark contrast to the way he left the first time after being integral to Atletico’s 2013-14 title-winning season.