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Chelsea's Diego Costa has apparently decided to contest the charge of violent conduct leveled against him by the FA.
BREAKING NEWS: Press Association - Diego Costa to contest FA Charge of Violent Conduct. More on #SSNHQ
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) January 29, 2015
The decision was due by 6 PM London time on Thursday, so the decision comes fairly close to the deadline, as expected.
I have a hard time believing that either Costa or Chelsea actually believe that they won't be found guilty, and contesting the decision opens the player up to an additional match in his suspension if the FA so chooses (which frankly, might be one of the stupidest rules the FA has). With that in mind, I'd imagine Chelsea either know in advance that there won't be a decision before Saturday's match kicks off, or that they've decided to bury the independent panel in so much paperwork that they can't feasibly sort the issue in a timely manner.
Regardless, we'll likely hear quite a bit more about Costa's stamping incidents in the next 48 hours.