Diego Costa appears to BITE Gareth Barry at Goodison park- Chelseafc

Chelsea striker Diego Costa could face serious retrospective punishment after he appeared to try to bite Everton's Gareth Barry during Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Goodison Park.

The Spain international was booked in the 11th minute of the game for an initial foul on Barry and the pair clashed again in the second half. As they went nose to nose, Costa was seen bringing his mouth into the midfielder's neck.

However, the contact looked to be minimal as Barry did not react in as angrily as one might expect. 

 

The ex-England anchorman was sent off himself a few minutes later for tripping Cesc Fabregas. 

Costa could also be in trouble for appearing to make a crude hand gesture towards Toffees fans while leaving the pitch at half-time.

The 27-year-old raised two fingers towards the home crowd before Romelu Lukaku struck twice in the second half to send Chelsea to a disappointing 2-0 defeat on Merseyside.

Suarez's third biting ban, which saw him exiled from all football-related activity for four months, came after he clashed with Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup.  

Any lengthy suspension for Costa would be a huge blow to Chelsea. He has scored 15 goals in 40 appearances in all competitions so far this season with three coming in his last five games.

The fiery forward made a poor start to the season under Jose Mourinho but has found the net 11 times since Guus Hiddink took over in early December.

Costa signed for the Blues from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2014 in a reported £32million deal and has since established himself as a key player for the west London side, though his hot temper has often been a subject of criticism. 

The FA Cup represented Chelsea's last chance to win silverware this term after they were dumped out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain and saw the defence of their Barclays Premier League title undone by an awful start to the campaign.

Costa is also facing suggestions from a number of Twitter users that he spat at the feet of referee Michael Oliver after his decision to give him his first yellow card.