Diego Costa, the provocateur, hurting Chelsea's cause

Unless he plays for your team its hard to find any love for Diego Costa Fans of Atletico Madrid who won a first La Liga crown in 18 years in 201314 on the back of his goals will always have a soft corner for him but his current travails at Chelsea have attracted only condemnation from rival supportersAlso ReadChelseas Diego Costa slapped with threematch ban over Arsenal fracasChelseas Diego Costa in blue and Arsenals Gabriel argue during their EPL match at Stamford Bridge recently The incident led to Costa being banned for three matches for provoking Gabriel PicGetty Images The facts of the case are pretty simple Costa skirted the line against Arsenal putting his hands on Laurent Koscielnys face and generally making a nuisance of himself But it was Arsenals Gabriel Paulista that retaliated aiming a snide kick at Costas shins to get himself sent off This though is the age of television replays and after studying the evidence the Football Association rescinded Gabriels threematch ban while handing down that punishment to CostaAlso ReadEPL Diego Costa shouldve been sent off twice says Arsene WengerStrange verdictIt was a strange sort of verdict and Jose Mourinho has every right to be incensed Costa as has often been the case was the provocateur but it was Gabriel that was foolish enough to retaliate If there is no punishment for retaliation football will soon be reduced to professional wrestlingThe coverage of Costa has also exposed English footballs hypocrisy From time immemorial the English game has celebrated the muscular centre forward When Evertons Dixie Dean mdash who scored 60 goals in the 192728 season died Bill Shankly said he deserved to be compared with Shakespeare Beethoven and Rembrandt Nat Lofthouse is remembered as The Lion of Vienna after his exploits in a postwar gameIn more modern times Alan Shearer was no shrinking violet Kevin Davies often held up as an example of the oldstyle forward regularly topped the yellowcard charts Andy Carroll has accumulated transfer fees of more than 50 million pounds on account of his ability to give defenders a rough rideCostas flailing elbows dont look good on replays but hes scarcely alone in employing such methods Shearer was suspended for two European games in late 2002 after throwing an elbow at Fabio Cannavaro And when Arsene Wenger spoke of Costas conduct being unacceptable he probably forgot that Denis Bergkamp picked up 46yellows and four red cards during his time at Arsenal The scorer of some of the most sublime goals the league has seen also wasnt averse to the odd flailing arm or kick when it suited himIn Spain Costa got a lot of joy out of defenders like Gabriel that took the bait The more experienced campaigners like Sergio Ramos however either paid him back in the same coin or refused to be provoked It would have been fascinating to see how Costas former Atletico teammates Diego Godin and Miranda mdash as tough and uncompromising a duo as they come mdash dealt with himCostas indiscretions have already caused him to miss a League Cup win against Walsall 41 and a 22 draw at Newcastle that leaves Chelsea eight points off the pace seven games into the season Radamel Falcao and Loic Remy will be the beneficiaries as Mourinho looks to rediscover last autumns groove but without Costas goals Chelsea have little chance of retaining the titleAfter a magnificent start to his Stamford Bridge career Costas performances have tailed away a little Hamstring problems havent helped but he also doesnt possess the searing pace or dribbling ability that characterise some of the leagues other premier marksmenOpportunistic strikerFalcao when fully fit was a far more rounded striker capable of both the spectacular and the mundane Costa has scored brilliant goals but his primary strength is being in the right place at the right time and preying on defenders who dont know how to react to his irritating presenceTheres little doubt that the decision to bring him to Stamford Bridge was confirmed when Atletico won 31 there in the Champions League in April 2014 For a team brilliantly set up by Diego Simeone mdash himself a provocateur supreme in his playing days mdash Costa was the perfect spearheadA few months later on his first day as a Chelsea player he greeted John Terry and friends at Cobham with the words I go to war You come with me With the clubs season yet to kick into gear the need for that warrior is greater than everDileep Premachandran is Wisden Indias editorinchief