The pantomime villain of Costa continues

So… This incident happened in the Chelsea vs Everton Premier League fixture yesterday…

Now, it seems somewhat controversial, as a number of people have expressed outrage at Diego Costa’s “time-wasting” tactics by rolling back on to the pitch in order to receive treatment.

Firstly, the level of abuse aimed at Costa is ridiculous — and I firmly believe that no other player would receive such vitriol. It is only due to his previous antics and on-going role as pantomime villain, that this has even been discussed.

Secondly, the Laws of Football regards injuries and leaving the field of play are thus:

• A player must not leave the field of play without permission. If a player’s momentum carries him/her outside of the field boundaries, the player is not classed as ‘leaving’ the field and therefore may re-enter without permission.
• Leaving the field without permission will see the player shown a yellow card (or ‘booked’, as it’s referred to) at the next break in play.
• A player must not re-enter the field of play without the permission of the referee (except where outlined above) — i.e. following treatment, replacement of equipment etc. Should a player re-enter without permission, an indirect free-kick shall be awarded against him/her and a yellow card issued.

So… Was Diego Costa right, or wrong? Was it a time-wasting tactic, or did the player believe that by remaining off the field he would be committing an offence?

The referee, if he believed it to be a deliberate act of gamesmanship, could have issued Costa with a yellow card. Likewise, had he Costa re-entered and then left the field, he could have been issued a yellow card had he done so without the referee’s permission.

There are so many grey areas in football that provoke discussion and debate. This is simply just another.

The referee used common sense. He — or she — is allowed to, believe it or not.