Tottenham midfielder Mousa Dembele handed six-game ban after accepting violent conduct charge

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Mousa Dembele has been handed a six-game ban by the FA for gouging Diego Costa's eyes in Spurs' 2-2 draw against Chelsea on Monday night (2 May). The 28-year-old Belgian was involved in an angry confrontation with the Spanish striker during the game at Stamford Bridge and subsequently accepted the charge levelled against him.

Dembele's action were not spotted by the matchday officials, but were caught on video camera. Consequently, the FA decided to take retrospective action against the player.

"The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder accepted the charge but denied the FA's claim that the standard punishment of three matches that would otherwise apply to this offence was clearly insufficient," a statement from the FA read.

"An Independent Regulatory Commission upheld the FA's claim at a hearing today... and ordered that an additional three-match suspension was appropriate."

Following the game at Stamford Bridge, Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino refused to criticise his players for their aggressive approach.

"It was a derby, we were fighting to win the title and Chelsea were fighting to try and win. We were all involved. When you play for the title and play a big team like Chelsea, they want to win. It was normal emotion, fighting on the pitch is not a good example, for both teams," the Spurs manager previously said of the feisty affair against Chelsea.

"In football we want to win and sometimes situations like tonight happen. I think there is nothing to say, nothing to blame, how they [Chelsea] take the game shows big respect for us. That makes us feel proud."