Arsenal vice-captain says club are cheaters and they support that
Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has criticised Chelsea fans for accepting and supporting cheating from their players.
The Blues picked up a 2-0 home win against Arsenal on Saturday, but it was marred in controversy just before the half-time interval.
Diego Costa got into a scrap with Laurent Koscielny before his entre-back partner Gabriel Paulista got involved.
After it all ended, Gabriel was shown a red-card whilst Costa only got cautioned despite slapping and scratching Koscielny.
The FA yesterday charged both clubs for failing to control their players, and also dished out individual charges to Gabriel and Costa for their actions during the match.
Speaking about the game at Stamford Bridge, Mertesacker believes Chelsea fans accept cheaters into their club, as long as they win games, which is taking away the fair play from the game.
Mertesacker Not Happy
“(Diego Costa) was seen off with standing ovations from his own fans and that shows that rivalry is more important than what’s happening on the pitch at that moment,” he said.
“That hurt a lot because that isn’t fair, let alone a show of respect and these, simply, are things football should stand for.”
Mertesacker then admitted he hopes the Spaniard gets banned for his actions.
“I just hope that the right conclusions are drawn from this because it’s simple,” he added
“There are several offences after one another and it’s easy, really, to make a sensible decision in retrospect now.”
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Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt
