Confirmed: Spurs star Mousa Dembele handed huge ban after clash with Chelsea's Diego Costa

Dembele appeared to claw his fingers down Diego Costa's face during Spurs' 2-2 draw at Chelsea on Monday night.

The Belgian had until 6pm yesterday to respond but he did not contest the charge, head coach Mauricio Pochettino has revealed.

And the full extent of Dembele's sanction followed from the FA.

A statement from the FA read: "Mousa Dembele will serve a six-match suspension with immediate effect after he committed an act of violent conduct which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video."

The FA, when charging Dembele, had said it considered the incident to be serious enough that 'the standard punishment of three matches would be clearly insufficient'.

And now Dembele will miss Spurs' remaining matches this Premier League season - at home to Southampton on Sunday and at Newcastle a week later - and the first four fixtures of next term.

The FA statement added: "The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder accepted the charge but denied the FA's claim that the standard punishment of three matches which would otherwise apply to this offence was clearly insufficient.

"An independent regulatory commission upheld the FA's claim at a hearing today (Friday, May 6, 2016) and ordered that an additional three match suspension was appropriate."