Two days ago Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa received an eight-match ban after being found guilty of abusing the referee during his team's 0-2 loss against Barcelona.

According to the match report of referee Jesus Gil Manzano, the Spanish international insulted his mother for which he was sent off in the 28th minute of the big match. Half of the ban was given for his verbal comments, while the other half was a result of the attacker grabbing the referee's hand in the heat of the moment.

With this ban, Costa has registered 30 suspensions during his career, from red cards to yellow card accumulation or retrospective bans. But where exactly does the naturalized Spaniard rank among some of the biggest bans in European football?

Click on the gallery to see the top 5 biggest disqualifications in European football throughout the years, with some big names with controversial careers present in the list.