Dembele appeared to claw his fingers into Costa’s eye and down his cheek during Tottenham’s ill-tempered 2-2 draw at London rivals Chelsea on Monday. The draw saw Tottenham's title hopes blown into thin air, thereby handing the title to Leicester City.
The Belgium international wasn’t punished for the offence by referee Mark Clattenburg, but the incident was caught by television cameras and he accepted the Football Association’s charge.
“Mousa Dembele will serve a six-match suspension with immediate effect after he committed an act of violent conduct which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video,” an FA statement read on Friday.
“The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder accepted the charge but denied The FA’s claim that the standard punishment of three matches which would otherwise apply to this offence was clearly insufficient.
“An Independent Regulatory Commission upheld The FA’s claim at a hearing today and ordered that an additional three match suspension was appropriate.
“The player was involved in an incident with Chelsea’s Diego Costa in or around the 45th minute of the fixture at Stamford Bridge on Monday.”
Dembele will now miss the last two matches of the current campaign against Southampton and Newcastle as the North London side seeks to secure second place.
The 28-year-old’s clash with Costa was one of several ugly exchanges during the game at Stamford Bridge and both clubs have been charged by the FA for failing to control their players.
The game spiralled out of control as Tottenham blew a two-goal lead and conceded a late equaliser to end their hopes of catching Leicester, who were crowned champions as a result.
