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.
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.
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