Diego Costa did not bite me, says Everton midfielder Gareth Barry

Everton midfielder Gareth Barry has stated that Chelsea striker Diego Costa did not bite him during the Merseyside club's 2-0 FA Cup quarter-final victory on Saturday.

According to an AFP report, Barry said, "Seen a lot of talk about the incident involving me and Diego Costa in the game last night. For the record, Diego did not bite me".

In a statement released late on Saturday, Chelsea said that Costa had "expressed regret" over the incident, but was adamant that he had not bitten Barry.

A club spokesman said: 'Diego spoke to club officials after the game and expressed regret over his reaction to the challenge from... (1/2)

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 12, 2016

...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.'(2/2)

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 12, 2016

After being fouled by Barry, Costa jumped up for a tete-a-tete and ended by burying his head into the Everton midfielder's neck.

It looked momentarily as if he was opening his mouth to bite Barry but there was absolutely no reaction from the England man to suggest he had, and it all ended with Costa offering an unconvincing embrace.

Referee Michael Oliver, though, had seen enough of Costa's antics to send him off for a second yellow card in the 84th minute and his tormentor Barry was similarly dismissed soon after for a foul on Cesc Fabregas.