Tuesday 22 September 2015 16:11, UK
Tony Cascarino loves Diego Costa's physical style but says the Chelsea striker is close to 'going too far' on the pitch.
Costa has been charged with violent conduct by the Football Association for his actions in the Blues' 2-0 win over Arsenal on Saturday.
Costa was booked after squaring up to Laurent Koscielny and becoming involved in a spat with Gabriel, but he also put his hand in the face of Koscielny as well as catching the French centre-back in the face with a swinging arm. Gabriel was eventually sent off.
Cascarino, who played for Chelsea from 1992-94 as a no-nonsense centre-forward, says he is an admirer of the confrontational Spaniard and believes he is vital to the high-tempo football Jose Mourinho likes to play at Stamford Bridge.
But he feels Costa can still be effective without risking further disciplinary action.
"I love the physicality of the game and I hope that never goes out of it but Diego is taking it close to a fine line of going too far. It's going to cost Chelsea in the long term," said Cascarino.
"He can be as passionate and dominating as he wants - and that's part of the reason why he got Gabriel sent off - but he has to learn to play with that heart and that passion without crossing the line.
"He will get a ban. I hope it's not long and that they say to him that if he does it again then he'll get a longer ban. I think he needs a warning.
"I'm in the big centre-forwards union and I always want to give them the benefit of the doubt; I love players playing in a certain way but he is crossing a line.
"You can't swipe out at people and grab at their face. He can still do it without crossing that line."
Cascarino does not feel the FA action will make him a target for opposing defenders and thinks managerial advice to defenders facing him will be quite the opposite.
"You don't need to target him - I think he can wind himself up," he said. "He's one of those players that is probably quiet as a mouse in the dressing room and is a different person on the pitch.
"What opposing managers will say is, 'don't get involved with him'. If I was Arsene Wenger I'd be taking Olivier Giroud to one side and saying, 'you got sent off for far less than that in Zagreb' and that he should bring some of what Costa does into his game.
"The way Chelsea play, they are a fully committed side and they play a high-tempo game, they're in your faces and they make it as hard for you as possible."
