Kurt Zouma has apologised for branded his Chelsea team-mate Diego Costa a cheat following his on-the-field antics against Arsenal at the weekend.
The Premier League champions are waiting to learn if the Spaniard will face retrospective action from the Football Association for his shenanigans.
Chelsea ran out 2-0 winners at Stamford Bridge but the game didn’t pass without incident as Costa tangled with Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel.
Costa’s questionable tactics were no surprise to Zouma though as he admitted the Blues squad are well aware of their forward’s traits.
He told BeIN Sport: “We're not surprised because we know Diego.
"Everyone knows Diego and this guy likes to cheat a lot and put the opponent out of his game.
"That happened in the game but he's a really nice guy. We're proud to have him, like the other players, and we're happy to win this game today."
Video: Watch Kurt Zouma call Diego Costa a cheat
Zouma has since taken to Twitter to clarify his post-match comments
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger labelled Costa’s performance unacceptable but also fully expected an onslaught from the fiery forward.
Wenger fumed: “It was surprising Costa got away with what he did. He can do what he wants and stays on the pitch.
“I think it is unacceptable behaviour what he does to Koscielny. He pushed him in the face and gets away with it. I don’t understand Mike Dean’s decision.
Mourinho named the striker his man of the match for his performance in the 2-0 win and pointed to a couple of incidents of his own that he was unhappy with the official for missing.
“I think you should speak about Gabriel Paulista,” the Special One snapped.
“You should speak about him and his mistake. If you want to speak about Diego Costa with me – he play how he has to play – that’s why you have full stadiums, you sell to TV stations for millions and millions, because the game has to be played like that.”
Pictures: Chelsea back to winning ways against Arsenal
