Real Madrid's Álvaro Got Away with a Blatant Stomp on Diego Costa

Real Madrid beat rival Atletico Madrid 3-0 in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal Wednesday afternoon. Figure that this dirty stamp by Álvaro Arbeloa on Atleti star Diego Costa — which went unnoticed by the refs — will linger into the return leg next week.

Costa is a bit of an agitator himself and has a way of getting under opponents skin. The interesting thing here is the Brazilian-born striker has become a naturalized Spanish citizen and is trying to play for Spain — not Brazil — at the World Cup this summer. This move hasn’t sat well in his native country or in Spain, where he’s been jeered by opposing fans. You’d think Spain would welcome a guy who’s the best player in La Liga not named Ronaldo or Messi with open arms.

Should Costa make the Spain World Cup squad, it’s doubtful he’ll forget what Arbeloa did on Wednesday.