Diego Costa apologised to his Wolves teammates after being sent off for the first time in the Premier League following a headbutt on Brentford defender Ben Mee.
The Wolverhampton Wanderers striker was dismissed in injury time of the 1-1 draw in London on Saturday after VAR intervened following a tussle with the Bees centre-back. Bobby Madley, handed his first refereeing assignment in the Premier League since being sacked by PGMOL chiefs four years ago missed the incident, before being sent to look at the monitors by VAR.
He had little choice but to dismiss the veteran striker, who will be handed a three match ban and won’t play again until after the World Cup.
The former Chelsea centre-forward had endured a frustrating afternoon, leading the attack for manager-less Wolves at the Gtech Community Stadium. Interim boss Steve Davis had seen his side fall behind early in the second half of a tetchy battle, when ex-Burnley defender Mee had acrobatically struck at a corner, after Wolves had fallen asleep.
But instantly, the visitors levelled, through talismanic captain Ruben Neves, who swept home a fine 20-yard finish past the unsighted David Raya. Thomas Frank grew increasingly unhappy at what he perceived as time-wasting from the visitors late in the game, and was seen on more than one occasion chastising the fourth official.
The game became frantic as it entered its latter moments, with both sides pushing for a winner, but neither possessing the quality to prise open their opponents. Amid that frustration, Costa saw red for the first time in 95 Premier League matches.
As Wolves worked the ball through midfield and down the right flank, Costa became engaged in a tussle with Mee in the penalty area, with the defender holding the Brazilian-born 34-year-old’s arms and not allowing him to move away from his grasp.
Costa attempted to fight himself free with his arms, but as Mee continued to grab at the Wolves man, Costa turned and headbutted his opponent. Mee hit the deck and play continued until the ball went out of play. Then, Madley was called over to look at the incident on the touchline after it had been missed by both he and his officials - and it didn’t take long for him to decide that the red card was the only course of action.
"He's apologised to his teammates," said interim Wolves boss Davis during his post-match press conference. "I haven't seen it, but he's apologised."
Wolves' point was only their third in their last 11 league matches on the road, while Neves’ strike was only their sixth in 13 games so far this term. Davis added: “A point was fair. I thought it was quite evenly balanced in terms of possession and chances at either end.”
Bees boss Thomas Frank revealed Ivan Toney had stepped from his sickbed to lead the home side after suffering with a sickness bug during the week. "He was on the pitch, but he didn't train. He didn't do anything on Friday, he was home."
