Peter Walton joins the FC crew to share his candid thoughts on Douglas Costa's spitting incident against Sassuolo and how he should be punished. Juventus' Massimiliano Allegri insists Douglas Costa's red card for spitting at Federico Di Francesco was completely out of character during their 2-1 win over Sassuolo.
Juventus winger Douglas Costa has been handed a four-match ban by Serie A after spitting at an opponent during his side's 2-1 win over Sassuolo at the weekend.
Costa spat at Federico Di Francesco in the closing stages of Sunday's Serie A fixture after a running feud in which the Brazil international also elbowed and head-butted his opponent.
Serie A confirmed the extent of that ban in their weekly disciplinary report on Tuesday.
Costa's behaviour was condemned immediately after the match by Bianconeri coach Massimiliano Allegri, who promised he would be fined by the reigning champions.
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"It's only right that [Costa] is fined," Allegri said after the match. "He certainly will be ... I was surprised by his reaction. We have suffered a goal, a red card and a suspension which will be long."
Costa will consequently miss Juve's league games against Frosinone, Bologna and Napoli and Udinese, although he is eligible to face Valencia in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The 28-year-old said he was sorry for his behaviour in an Instagram post after the match which read: "I would like to apologise to all Juventus fans for this misleading reaction in today's game. I also apologise to my teammates, who are always with me in the good and the bad times."
Costa will be eligible to return to action in Serie A on Oct. 20 when Juventus host Genoa.
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Source: espn.co.uk