Diego Costa burst into tears when he returned to the dressing room after being sent off against Barcelona .
The Atletico Madrid striker was shown a red card for insulting referee Gil Manzano's mother.
Costa yelled: "I s*** on your w**** mother, I s*** on your w**** mother" and was promptly dismissed.
And according to reports in Spain, he cried as he was left to ponder his actions.
Despite being down to ten men, Atletico held out until the 84th minute when Luis Suarez broke the deadlock, moments before Lionel Messi made sure of a 2-0 win which sends Barca 11 points clear of their visitors at the top of La Liga.
Manager Diego Simeone later claimed his side were hard done to.
"We have had many red cards, so we must be doing something wrong," he said.
"I asked the referee at half-time and he told me Costa had said something wrong, but Costa assures me he did not.
"Other players have said things and not been sent off. This does not excuse what Costa has done. If the referee feels there has been an insult, the dismissal makes sense.
"But the treatment is not the same for everyone."
The match was perhaps Atletico's last chance to close the gap on Barcelona, which now stands at 11 points with seven games to go, but even if the title is gone, Simeone is happy with where his side stand.
"Our season is not over," he said. "We have won the European Supercup, we have played in the Champions League. This result is a negative, but we do not forget where we have come from.
"I believe that everything that happens to us will make us stronger."
