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Chelsea’s Diego Costa denies biting Everton’s Gareth Barry

Everton prevailed courtesy of a brilliant late brace from former Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku, taking them into the semi-finals.

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Costa appeared to bite Gareth Barry in the second half too, something which both players have laughed off, however Hiddink knows he needs to control the Spain global.

Interim Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink said in his post-match conference he would reserve judgement on the incident until he has had chance to see it for himself.

Costa faced a one-match ban following the first red card of his career in England, but the FA charge is likely to lead to a further one-game suspension, with the possibility of another ban for the crowd gesture. Maybe we will go and watch it together. Then comes the moment to give judgement, but I haven’t seen it so I would only be speculating.

Barry will miss Everton’s Barclays Premier League home game against Arsenal on Saturday, while Costa will sit out West Ham’s visit to Stamford Bridge on the same day.

However, they have also hauled him up for a completely separate incident.

However, a Chelsea spokesperson later denied that Costa had bitten Barry, and had simply overreacted to the challenge.

“It is not like I play three games great and six games bad, I have always been good this year and this is something I wanted”.

“Two things I think will happen now”.

Crucially, Barry’s reaction did not suggest he had been bitten, and Everton manager Roberto Martinez said after the match that “Gareth Barry said “It’s nothing to be anxious about”.

“I like him”, said Hiddink, who praised Costa for wanting to play despite suffering injury in the midweek Champions League loss to PSG.

“He did halfway during the season, then afterwards then, I think he was different in his behaviour”.

“The sending-off of Gareth Barry was right and the referee never allowed those emotions to stop the fluency. I’m sure the two players just shook it off at the end of the game and there’s nothing to look back (on)”.

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Barton added: “You can’t get too self-righteous in my position”.

Diego Costa