Chelsea’s Diego Costa has had a three match ban for violent conduct upheld…
The bad-boy antics of Chelsea’s Diego Costa are seeing him quickly become the Premier League’s biggest rebel, arguably replacing the recently departed Luis Suarez, who joined Barcelona last summer.
SEE MORE:
(Video) Proof The FA Should Not Have Banned Chelsea’s Diego Costa After Aguero And Stoke Man Escape Punishment For Similar Offences
FA Confirms Chelsea’s Diego Costa Ban For Violent Conduct Has Been Upheld
Luis Suarez or Diego Costa? Martin Keown Decides Who He’d Rather Have
His latest misdemeanour occurred on Tuesday, when he appeared to stamp on Liverpool duo Emre Can and Martin Skrtel. Despite an appeal, the Spaniard’s three-match suspension was upheld, and he’ll now miss the crucial weekend game against Manchester City.
Costa clearly has something of a short fuse, and if he continues to act out he could one day find himself appearing in this list of football’s ten longest suspensions:
9) Luis Suarez (Liverpool) – 4 months
The Liverpool striker bit down on Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini while playing for Uruguay at the World Cup. However, his actions did not dissuade Barcelona from paying £75m for him just weeks later; leaving him on the sidelines while he served his suspension.
8) Vinnie Jones (Wimbledon) – 6 months
One of football’s most iconic hard men, Jones was sent off a total of 12 times during his career. However, this lengthy ban was dished out for his actions off the pitch. In 1992 he presented a video entitled Soccer’s Hard Men, a video which appeared to encourage behaviour such as his.
7) Kolo Toure (Manchester City) – 6 months
The now Liverpool defender received the controversial ban after failing a drugs test. Toure put the failure down to having taken his wife’s diet pills, but the excuse did little to influence the decision taken against him.
6) Adrian Mutu (Fiorentina) – 6 months
Not for the first time in his career, the Romanian tested positive for substance abuse. Having already been caught earlier in his career – more on that later – you think he would have learned.
5) Adrian Mutu (Chelsea) – 7 months
During his time with Chelsea, Mutu tested positive for cocaine. The Blues subsequently sacked the player for “gross misconduct,” leading to a lengthy court battle as the Romanian attempted to earn some compensation over the nature of his dismissal.
4) Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United) – 8 months
Ferdinand paid the price for missing a drugs test, despite providing a clean sample two days later. United claimed the punishment was “particularly savage,” but that did little to persuade officials to reduce the lengthy punishment.
3) Mark Bosnich (Chelsea) – 9 months
The former United stopper tested positive for cocaine in 2002. The Australian attempted to claim that his drink had been spiked, but his excuses fell on deaf ears. Only in 2003 was the truth revealed, with Bosnich admitting he was spending $5000-a-week on the habit.
2) Eric Cantona (Manchester United) – 9 months
In 1995 the French striker launched himself at a stunned Crystal Palace fan. The ‘kung-fu kick’ would go down in history, with Cantona banned for nine months. He had already been sent-off in the game itself, and took exception to one particular heckler.
1) Diego Maradona (Napoli) – 15 months
Like Cantona, everyone remembers the infamous Maradona moment – the wild stare into the television camera after scoring a goal in the World Cup. His international career ended in shame, while his club career would never recover.
SEE ALSO: Chelsea transfer news