Mousa Dembele: Tottenham player could be hit with seven game ban over Diego Costa incident

The Belgian has until 6pm to respond to the charge of violent conduct

Mousa Dembele appeared to eye-gouge Diego Costa during Tottenham's 2-2 draw with Chelsea (Getty)

Mousa Dembele could be hit with a ban as long as seven matches for clawing at the face of Diego Costa.

The Tottenham player has until 6pm today to respond to a charge by the Football Association for an alleged act of violent conduct against the Chelsea forward.

A bad-tempered Premier League encounter at Stamford Bridge on Monday night produced 12 yellow cards as well as two mass brawls involving players and coaches from both sides, as Chelsea fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 - a result which handed the title to Leicester.

The Football Association confirmed on Wednesday afternoon a disciplinary case had been opened, with Spurs and Chelsea charged with three counts of failing to control their players and Dembele also facing action after appearing to claw his fingers down Costa's face during a skirmish at the end of the first half.

A strongly worded statement from the FA made the seriousness of the allegations clear, which if proven as violent conduct given the circumstances involved "the standard punishment of three matches that would otherwise apply is clearly insufficient."

Video footage of the incident

Should the charge be upheld, the Belgium midfielder is expected to almost certainly be suspended for the remaining two matches of the current season, with any ban possibly rolling over into the start of the 2016/17 campaign. It's suggested the ban could be for as many as seven games.

The statement from the FA read: "Both Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have been charged for three breaches of FA rule E20 for failing to control their players and/or officials. It follows incidents which occurred in the 45th and 87th minutes and also at the end of the game at Stamford Bridge on Monday night (2 May 2016).

"Both clubs have until 6pm on Monday 9 May 2016 to respond to their charge.

"Meanwhile, Mousa Dembele has been charged for an alleged act of violent conduct which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video during the same game.

"The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder was involved in an incident with Chelsea's Diego Costa near the end of the first half.

"Further, it is alleged the player's behaviour constituted violent conduct in circumstances where the standard punishment of three matches that would otherwise apply is clearly insufficient."

The FA statement clarified how off-the-ball incidents, which are not seen at the time by the match officials, are referred to a panel of three former elite referees, who will each review the video footage independently to determine whether they consider it a sending-off offence.

For retrospective action to be taken, and an FA charge to follow, the decision of the panel must be unanimous.

There were several other incidents of petulance during the game and matters came to a head again at the full-time whistle when a melee in the tunnel resulted in Chelsea's interim manager Guus Hiddink being pushed to the ground.

Tottenham defender Danny Rose, who sparked the first brawl after clashing with Chelsea midfielder Willian and was booked, has since apologised for how the game may have looked to young viewers.

The ill-feeling continued after the game as another scrum outside the tunnel saw Hiddink fall to the ground while players and staff from both sides grappled with each other.

The charge of failing to control players and/or officials carries an initial set fine for a club's first offence in a season.

However, both Chelsea and Tottenham have already faced such a sanction following incidents in respective games with West Brom, so could face more severe punishment.

Additional reporting by PA