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Antonio Conte Says Diego Costa Is Being Provoked After Swansea vs. Chelsea
- Updated: September 12, 2016
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte said he believes that opposition defenders actively provoke Diego Costa in an attempt to get him sent off following the Blues’ 2-2 draw with Swansea City on Sunday.
The Spain international scored both Chelsea goals against the Swans—including a late equaliser—but he also picked up his third yellow card of the Premier League season and spent much of the match sparring with Jordi Amat.
After the game, Conte asked referees to allow the forward to play his football, per ESPN FC’s Liam Twomey:
If you ask me if [Amat] deserved a second yellow card, I don’t want to reply about this.
I will say only that after every game, the press ask me about the passion of [Costa], about his behaviour. Today I can say he had fantastic behaviour to control the situation, because he took a lot of kicks from the first minute until the end of the game.
I’m pleased because he showed me, he showed his teammates and he showed everyone that he had fantastic behaviour, and it wasn’t easy.
I think that defenders know him and sometimes try to provoke him. I was a footballer and this situation is normal.
You know that Diego is a …
