Juventus manager Max Allegri has criticised Douglas Costa for spitting on an opponent player during their 2-1 win over Sassuolo in the Serie-A.
Costa had a number of altercations with Sassuolo’s Federico Di Francesco in the last match and he was later seen spitting on the player’s face at the stroke of the 93rd minute.
The incident didn’t catch the attention of the referee but the introduction of VAR proved to be too hot for Costa, After consulting with VAR the referee showed him a red card and the player is now scheduled to miss the next three games including the crucial clash against Napoli.
Costa can face further sanction if the Italian football association decides to investigate the incident and he could be banned for a prolonged period.
Condemning the incident Allegri said, “Maybe he was irritated at a foul before, but it doesn’t matter, because this absolutely must not happen. The one thing we must avoid doing is falling for provocation.
“We could’ve scored a third goal, but instead we started to play as individuals, we tried to dribble past everyone, this wound up the opposition, who then reacted badly and you get to situations like Douglas Costa.
“You just had to see the first three games and how close Ronaldo went to scoring. Again today, he was a little too hasty and eager to score, but it bounced off the post and right into his path. That unblocked him.”
