Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte, has played down Diego Costa’s kick on Manchester City defender, Vincent Kompany in their Premier League match at the Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old striker kicked out at Kompany in the second half of Chelsea’s 2-1 win over City but did not receive a card from referee Mike Dean.
The Brazil-born Spain international, who has not been sent off this season, could however, face retrospective action from the FA if the referee says he did not see the incident in his report.
And Conte told reporters, “During the game, it’s very difficult. “Yes, you see this kind of contact, but it’s impossible to tell, to judge this kind of contact. Against Crystal Palace, I told you I didn’t see a clear handball and penalty for us, and also a red card, because it’s very difficult to see these type of situations during the game.”
Former Premier League referee Howard Webb said on BT Sport, “If there was a foul before, and this happens afterwards, then maybe the FA might want to look at it as an act of violent conduct.
“But because this is the foul that Mike Dean penalises, then he has seen it, made a judgement on it and the FA don’t review situations where the referee has seen it.
“Is it violent conduct? It’s a subjective call but he puts his foot and doesn’t really follow through. I think it is worthy of a yellow card but probably just short of violent conduct.”
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