Diego Costa denies biting Barry

Replays of the pair’s clash appeared to show the Spain striker attempting to sink his teeth into the Toffees midfielder’s neck after he had been fouled.

Costa was subsequently shown a second yellow card – with Barry later sent off himself for a second bookable offence – but while the forward expressed regret over the confrontation, he has rebuffed claims he tried to bite the 35-year-old.

A Chelsea spokesman said: “Diego spoke to club officials after the game and expressed regret over his reaction to the challenge from Gareth Barry that led to his red card, but Diego was also very clear that he did not bite him at any point during that altercation.”

Chelsea fell to a 2-0 defeat at Goodison Park, with former Blues striker Romelu Lukaku scoring twice to eliminate Guus Hiddink’s side at the quarter-final stage. 

*Reported by www.goal.com