Van Persie receives treatment after clashing with Adebayor

The Football Association will on Monday examine the striker’s alleged stamp on Robin van Persie and goal celebration in front of the Gunners supporters.

It is reported that the 25-year-old may receive a six-match ban – three for each incident – if he is found guilty.

“I don’t know what I have done wrong to get banned,” Adebayor told The Sun.

“I have not heard the police or FA want to talk to me. The club have not said anything.”

The FA plans to “take a close look” at the two incidents, with the chief executive of English football’s governing body, Ian Watmore, telling BBC Radio 5 live’s Sportsweek show he was “unimpressed” with Adebayor’s actions.

“Our governance team will take a good look at both of the incidents that have been highlighted and will come to the media with the answers early next week,” he said.

“The punishments are the decision of the individual commission, if we get that far.”

BBC sports news correspondent Gordon Farquhar believes the alleged stamping incident could be dealt with quickly but that any decision relating to Adebayor’s celebration might be some time in coming.

“The FA have a fast-track system for cases of violent conduct so if they decide the charge is merited after reviewing the evidence today (Monday) then the Manchester City striker could be banned for up to three matches for the suspected stamping incident,” said Farquhar.

“As for the other matter, although he was booked by the referee Mark Clattenburg for running the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the Arsenal supporters, it’s unlikely any further disciplinary action will happen immediately.

“For incidents like that an improper conduct charge would be more usual – the player given time to request a personal hearing and prepare a defence.”

Adebayor, a £25m summer signing from Arsenal, escaped punishment from referee Mark Clattenburg following the Van Persie incident.

After avoiding his opponent’s sliding tackle in the middle of the field, the Togo international’s right boot caught the Dutchman in the face, leaving him needing treatment for a cut.

“I was trying to kick the ball,” Adebayor told Sky Sports after the match. “I see him tackling and I don’t have time to take my feet back because I’m trying to kick the ball.

“My feet touch his head. I feel sorry for him and even straight away, and at the end of the game, I said sorry.”

However, Van Persie, 26, subsequently claimed Adebayor had deliberately set out to injure him.

In a statement on Arsenal’s official website, Van Persie said he was “sad and disappointed” by Adebayor’s “mindless and malicious stamp”.

He added: “He set out to hurt me. I do feel lucky that I have not received a greater injury. I knew he was aiming for a collision because he changed the angle of his body to allow contact to be made.

“The contact was only centimetres from my eye. I have not received an apology from him, there were no words exchanged afterwards. He had his own agenda today and that is bad for football. It’s bad for the game we all love.

“I, too, have made hard and sometimes mistimed challenges but never with the intention of hurting an opponent.

“He has shown a real lack of class, to me and the fans. We do not hide from the disappointment of losing the match but I need to speak out about his behaviour.”

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said he wanted to see a replay before deciding whether there was any intent on Adebayor’s behalf.

City boss Mark Hughes told the City’s official website: “Emmanuel sustained a tremendous amount of personal abuse from the kick-off but strongly maintains that there was no malice intended in the challenge on Van Persie and apologised to him when he hugged him on leaving the field of play at the end of the game.

“The referee had a great view of the challenge from Ade and the one that preceded it by Van Persie and deemed at the time that neither were worthy of either a yellow or red card.

“We expect high standards of behaviour from our players and it is easy in the cold light of day, when the adrenalin has died down, to talk about what players should and shouldn’t do in that situation.

“Ade again immediately apologised but we know the FA will be reviewing the matter.”

Most of the talk immediately following the game centred on Adebayor’s inflammatory goal celebration.

After scoring City’s third goal 10 minutes from time, he ran the length of the field and slid on his knees in front of the stand containing the visiting Arsenal supporters.

“The emotion took over me,” admitted Adebayor. “Now I just have to say sorry.

“It was silly to run up in front of the Arsenal fans but these people have been insulting me all game. Even in the warm-up they were insulting me. They were saying things that are not nice to hear, personal things.

“I didn’t plan it, not at all. I didn’t even know that I would score. The way things were going from the warm-up, at the end it came into my head.”

It later emerged that a match steward needed hospital treatment after being hit by a flying object in the wake of Adebayor’s goal celebration.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman stated: “The steward received a head injury from a flying object, which appeared to have been thrown from the direction of the away end.

“We were told the steward was unconscious for a few seconds before being taken to hospital and later discharged.”

The spokesman, who could not confirm whether the steward was male or female, said police would investigate the assault.

Adebayor added: “I heard that a steward was injured and I regret that. I would like to apologise to the steward for what happened.”

Additional reports suggest the FA are also to look at an alleged stamp by Adebayor on Arsenal striker Robin van Persie.

Before I start, I ask that all my readers pray for me and Martin Taylor during this holy week. For me because I had to go to the doctor yesterday because my Achilles was killing me and I found out that I have a “partial tear” of the Achilles tendon. I guess it’s extremely rare to partially tear the tendon, but hey, I guess I’m just a special guy… This means 6 weeks in a brace before I can even start to rehab my left leg. The doctor said that 95% of the time, if I don’t heal it properly, I’ll fully tear the tendon. Which he described as “excruciating” and “like being hit in the heel with a 4 wood.” So, pray for me to heal.

Excruciating is also the word to describe the psychic pain that Martin Taylor is feeling right now. At least that’s what Birmingham’s chairman is saying. He then goes on to try to disparage Cesc Fabregas for his emotional comments about the Taylor tackle. Let me remind everyone of exactly what Cesc said:

Taylor did it and he knows why he did it. Of course he is not going to say he did it on purpose. A good player gets injured for a year and the player who makes the free-kick gets suspended for three little games. It is very unfair. This type of tackle shouldn’t be allowed. It doesn’t help football.

Honestly, there’s not much wrong with this statement. I think that chairman Gold is overreacting in order to “protect” Taylor. Which is fine. But let’s not pretend for a second that Gold is being objective or fair. Because if he was being fair, he’d put Alex McLeish up on the podium and have him clear the air. Did McLeish tell the players to “get stuck in right away?” Did McLeish tell the players that they needed to put a “physical stamp on the match right off?” Because for me, that’s the only issue here. And that’s how I interpret Cesc’s remark about how only Taylor “knows why he did it.”

Taylor too could come out and admit that the manager told the team to rough Arsenal up and that his tackle was meant to do that. Of course I don’t think Taylor went in to break Eduardo’s leg, but I do think Taylor was following orders. That tackle, at that time in the match, only has one purpose: send a message to the opposing team that says “if you try to dribble around us, we’re going to tackle you… hard.”

Teams who come out to “put a physical stamp” on matches are a problem. Those teams and their managers should be punished. That’s the whole issue for me: I want to know what Allie McLeish told the Birmingham players in the locker room before the match. Until we have a statement about that, then the rest of this is just handbags.

So shut the fuck up, Gold.

Sunday at Chelsea is a huge match. A season defining match, in fact. On Wednesday, Man U plays Bolton and Chelsea plays Tottenham which means that Arsenal supporters have to be rooting for Tottenham for one day. I don’t have any hangup about doing that. Let’s go you Spurs! You can certainly be bigger cunts than Chelsea! And you notloB cunts! Come on! “Put a physical stamp on the match” like you do against Arsenal.  That should make SA’s head assplode!
On Sunday, Arsenal could drop as far as 3rd place, but we have to wait and see what happens on Wednesday. There are too many points at stake and the race is too close to get too excited about Arsenal dropping to 3rd just yet.

Make no mistake, Sunday is the big showdown — Chelsea will be looking for revenge for what they perceived as an overly physical match that Arsenal took 1-0 back in December. Everyone expects this to be a very tense and physical encounter between two teams who have a history of tense, physical encounters.

Chelsea tend to get away with being a pack of cheating cunts like they did at the League Cup final where Mikel (one of the worst offenders on a team of criminals) started the whole thing with a dangerous tackle on Toure, who took exception, and then Lampard decided to ramp up the bullshit by attacking Toure.

Wait… I meant to say: “Lampard was protecting his teammate.”

Fights like that are more of a probability than a rarity on Sunday, sadly. Chelsea are like the Detroit Pistons of the EPL: they are a dirty team who knows full well that the instigator is rarely blamed. So, they like to come out and push Arsenal around hoping to get a reaction.  At the very least, pushing Arsenal’s buttons will make them lose concentration on their game.  At the very best (for Chelsea) Arsenal will have two main players sent off for one role player.

In a situation like that the Referee’s Association would want to put their best ref on the job.

You would think.

But NO!

In a shock move, Mark Clattenburg has been put in charge.

…This should end well.

What I find truly mind boggling is that referees’ chief Keith Hackett, who has TWICE punished Clattenburg this season for his poor handling of the Liverpool/Everton match and then for the Blackburn/Wigan debacle, is calling on Clattenburg for the one match this season which will probably be the most tense. I’m all for giving a guy a second or third chance, but I just don’t think this is the match to let him shine through. I would love to hear what special instructions they give him: like “whatever you do, don’t give too many cards.”

Ugh.

I have a bad feeling about Sunday.

And that’s going to have to do for today.  Until tomorrow.