Yet another twist in Chelsea saga with Costa the accused
CHELSEA'S bizarre season had another
story on Saturday as a Stoke steward's
claim that Diego Costa stamped on him
was refuted as "utter nonsense" and then
resolved.
Moments after the Blues' 1-0 loss at the
Britannia, a member of Stoke's security
staff reported Costa to the match referee
after an incident on the touchline. TV
footage of the alleged incident showed
Chelsea striker Costa going to retrieve
the ball for a throw-in and then
appearing to make contact with the
steward with his foot.
A Chelsea spokesperson simply said:
"Utter nonsense". It is understood that
the issue was then dealt with amicably
and put to bed. Referee Anthony Taylor
will now make mention of the matter in
his match report, but further action
would appear highly unlikely.
The incident nonetheless provided yet
another negative headline for the
beleaguered champions after their
dismal season took in a new low. The
Blues, without their under-pressure
manager Jose Mourinho due to a stadium
ban, were beaten for a seventh time in
12 Barclays Premier League games as
they went down 1-0. Chelsea did actually
perform creditably, but luck was not on
their side and Marko Arnautovic scored
the only goal after 53 minutes.
In Mourinho's absence, Chelsea did not
send a representative to speak at the
post-match press conference. It is the
second time in three games that no
member of the coaching staff has spoken
to written media after Mourinho
shunned duties after the loss at West
Ham a fortnight ago.
It was other events at Upton Park that
day that led to Mourinho's non-
appearance for the game at the
Britannia Stadium. The Portuguese was
handed a one-match stadium ban for
abusive language towards match
officials. And despite suggestions
Mourinho may try to circumvent the ban
- reviving claims he hid in a laundry
basket when suspended in 2005 - there
was no sign of him at the stadium. Club
officials said he had remained at the
team hotel.
If he watched on TV, he will have seen
Chelsea slip to a third successive league
defeat for the first time in 16 years. It
was a result that turned the heat up on
the manager considerably.
Asked about Mourinho's position,
goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, who did speak
to TV reporters, said: "That is out of our
hands, we are behind the manager - you
can see that from our performances. We
think he is the right man and someone
we work hard for.
"His spirit and his presence is always
there, we wanted to get a result for him."
One the matter of the stadium ban,
Begovic said: "Jose did the pre-match
talk at the hotel and that was it."
Begovic, Stoke's former number one, felt
the Blues were unlucky at his old club.
He said: "We definitely did enough to get
a result here, but when things aren't
going your way, you don't get the luck
you deserve.
"We hit the post, we slipped over when
we had open goals, we are making things
hard for ourselves."
Chelsea's Diego Costa is separated from
Stoke City's Geoff Cameron during Saturday's
Barclays Premier League match at the
Britannia Stadium
Picture: PA
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