Costa's fate in hands of referee

[sake]

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.

Profiles

Diego Costa

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 player would automatically be banned for league games against City, Aston Villa and Everton.

Costa would have until 6pm the following day to contest the decision, and a hearing would then be fast-tracked. Whatever the outcome, there would be a resolution before the City game.