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Brazillian football legend Pele begs has defended Chelsea striker Diego Costa, insisting the player has not conducted himself as poorly as Barcelona’s Luis Suarez, according to Express.
The three-time World Cup winner is considered by many to be one of the greatest football players of all time and shockingly he is one of the few to have disagreed on FA’s decision to rescind Gabriel’s three-match ban while Costa is set to miss Chelsea’s next 3 games. The 74-year-old didn’t think Costa acted too out of line.
“Listen, this to me was so common,” said the Selecao hero. “I suffered all my life with good marking. He’s a very good player, everybody knows.”
“This was one moment. The striker who bit someone, Luis Suarez, was worse than this.”
The Brazillian-born-Spanish striker was in the thick of London derby clash and the center of attention at the end of the match. Costa pushed and swiped an arm into the face of Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny. He did not stop there as he went on to provoke his teammate Gabriel and ended up scratching the back of his neck.
These incidents were not spotted by referee Mike Dean who showed the Arsenal defender red before the half time break while Costa received a yellow card for his unacceptable behavior. However, justice has been served when FA rescinded their decision yesterday and handed the Spaniard a three-match ban.
Costa and Gabriel previous had a run in during Atletico-Villareal La Liga game
Suarez, who joined Barcelona last season from Liverpool, has settled down in Catalunya quite well and made the footballing headlines for the right reasons by inspiring his side to a historic second treble in the 2014/15 campaign.
The Uruguayan is still serving his 10-match ban from international football owing to the biting incident against Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil last year. It was the third time he had bitten an opponent in his career with the previous two incidents coming in Ajax and Liverpool colours respectively.
Costa’s simulation antics on the pitch are widely known as he has been regularly involved in heated altercations with opponents. The former Atletico Madrid striker came under scrutiny since his La Liga days with the Rojiblancos most notably against Real defenders Sergio Ramos and Pepe, and who else but Gabriel back in 2013 when he played for Villareal.
With Chelsea travelling to the St. James Park and then hosting Southampton and Aston Villa at the Stamford Bridge, Mourinho will have to look for replacements up front with Loic Remy or Falcao filling in for the Spaniard.
