Atletico Madrid’d Diego Costa has been suspended for eight matches after insulting the referee during his team’s 2:0 defeat to Barcelona on Saturday.
The former Chelsea striker was given his marching orders by referee Jesús Gil Manzano in the 28th minute of the encounter at Camp Nou and had to be escorted out of the field by Pique after shouting at the referee.
Costa has allegedly used a Spanish phrase that referred defecating on his “prostitute mother”.
The referee also reported that the striker swore, shouted and grabbed him on numerous occasion after he was dismissed.
Costa’s ban consists of four games for using insulting or offensive words towards an official, and four games for the use of light violence towards referees.
The suspension means the striker is set to miss the rest of the season.
He is also fined €6,010 (£5,178) while Atletico were fined €2,800 (£2,400) over the incident.
The club has 10 days in which to lodge an appeal.
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