Diego Costa has been given an eight-match ban following the Atletico Madrid striker's red card against Barcelona last weekend.

Costa was dismissed in the first half of his side's 2-0 loss to Barcelona on Saturday for dissent, having confronted referee Jesus Gil Manzano.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) confirmed on Thursday that Costa's punishment was an eight-match suspension – four for foul-mouthed comments made towards the referee and a further four for grabbing the official's arm. The club have 10 working days to appeal the decision.

Atletico, who trail LaLiga leaders Barca by 11 points following their defeat at Camp Nou, have only seven games left to play this season, so the Spain international will be unavailable for the remainder of the campaign.

Costa's coach Diego Simeone had complained about the consistency of decisions in the aftermath of the red card, saying: "Other players have said things and he doesn't send them off."

The RFEF's statement included the observations of the referee, who claimed Costa insulted his mother and, after being dismissed, grabbed his arm to prevent him from showing yellow cards to his team-mates Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez.

Costa, who returned to Atletico from Chelsea in 2017, had not received a straight red card in a league match in nine years prior to his dismissal against Barca.

The striker has scored just twice in 16 LaLiga appearances this term.