Atlético Madrid coach Diego Simeone has forgiven Diego Costa for his straight red card in the Europa League and revealed the striker will retain his place.
The Brazilian was sent off for a headbutt in a Europa League tie against Czech side Viktoria Plzeň on Thursday.
Atlético finished the fixture with 10 men and subsequently lost the game 1-0, however the defending champions had already qualified.
Simeone still sees Costa as a valuable asset despite the sending off and does not care what others think about his player.
He said: “On a personal level, Diego Costa is still a player that I rate highly and love having in the team.
“He plays a very important role for us and I do not care what people might say about him.”
This was not the first time Costa had been caught headbutting a player as the 24-year-old stuck his head into Sergio Ramos in the Madrid derby.
Atlético are currently in action against Deportivo La Coruna at the Vicente Calderon Stadium.
