Diego Costa has said that he thinks the match officials ‘hate’ him after Atletico Madrid’s 2-0 win over Atletic Bilbao on Sunday.
Costa scored the second goal to keep Atletico within seven points of Barcelona at the top of La Liga, however, he received his third yellow card of the season following a red card in his return to the club against Getafe last month.
Costa told reporters after Sunday’s win that it was inevitable that the referee was going to book him but that he did not overstep the mark.
“The officials hate me and there’s nothing I can do to change that,” said Costa.
“Some of them book me for the smallest issue and it did not matter what it was but [against Bilbao] the referee was going to book me no matter what.
“You can look back at the replay and analyse it, but I did not overstep the mark and did not deserve it, but there is nothing I can do about it now.
“The penalty appeal? I think it is yes, I was knocked off balance by contact from the defender when I was going to shoot so I think it was!”
Costa’s teammate Antoine Griezmann has scored five goals in his last seven games and has once again been linked with a move away from the Wanda Metropolitano amid interest from Manchester United and Barcelona.
Costa dismissed the links but admitted that it’s a natural part of football.
“I think people make a lot of stuff up,” added the former Chelsea striker.
“The fans are behind Griezmann. He’s got quality and, every summer, a big team want him.
“It’s normal for him to get angry. I get angry too at times. It’s part of football. But the fans are delighted that Griezmann can be here and hopefully he’s here for many more years.”
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