Pepe: Costa said he fouled me

Pepe claims Diego Costa ‘acknowledged that he fouled me’ in the build-up to his first goal for Spain against Portugal.

Costa scored twice in Spain’s World Cup opener with Portugal, which finished 3-3 after Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat-trick, but the Atletico Madrid striker appeared to shove Pepe off the ball before firing past Rui Patricio.

“There are incidents that don’t even need the VAR,” the former Real Madrid defender said at a Press conference for the Selecao’s final group game against Iran.

“In the build-up to the first goal that Spain scored, we didn’t even need a video review.

“Diego Costa himself acknowledged that he fouled me. It was also the same for the penalty on Cristiano Ronaldo, which he didn’t get against Morocco.

“The cameras saw that he was dragged to the ground and pushed. I’m sure that if he wasn’t Ronaldo, it would’ve been a penalty.

“In any case, we’re human beings, we make mistakes and I don’t think the referees are out to harm anyone.

“We must respect them, we’re professionals and we have to do our jobs, no more than that. That’s what the Coach asks of us.”

Tags 2018 World Cup Besiktas Diego Costa Pepe Portugal Spain
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