Atletico Madrid
striker Diego Costa has seen his season brought to a close after being stung with an eight-match ban for insulting and grabbing referee Jesus Gil Manzano during a defeat to Barcelona.
The fiery frontman saw red just 28 minutes into a La Liga fixture at Camp Nou on April 6. Believing that he had been fouled, the Spain international launched into a furious tirade at the match officials. He was shown a straight red card and had to be ushered from the field by Gerard Pique after initially refusing to walk.
Manzano revealed in his match report that Costa had “grabbed” him by the arms during the incident. He has paid the price for those actions, with the Spanish Football Federation having met on Wednesday to discuss what punishment to hand out.
As Atletico only have seven more matches to take in this season, Costa’s campaign has been brought to a premature conclusion.
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