From the celebration in front of the traveling Arsenal supporters, to the RVP “Stomp”, to the English FA “Taking a good Look” at what transpired, to the Greater Manchester Police placing the crowd trouble on the player’s celebration, Emmanuel Adebayor’s availability for the Manchester Derby against Manchester United on Sunday isn’t looking so good.
Via Guardian
Greater Manchester police have criticised Emmanuel Adebayor for sparking the crowd disorder that led to a steward being knocked unconscious during Manchester City’s 4-2 defeat of Arsenal on Saturday. That is one of two incidents involving the player which is being investigated by the Football Association, with the strong possibility that he will face disciplinary charges and a suspension.
Adebayor will almost certainly be banned for three matches for the stamp on Robin van Persie that left the Arsenal striker with a gashed cheekbone and accusing his former team-mate of a “mindless and malicious” assault. City’s £25m summer signing will also face sanctions for celebrating his goal by running the length of the pitch to antagonise the away supporters. The stamping offence is expected to be fast-tracked through the disciplinary system, meaning his ban will start with Sunday’s derby against Manchester United.
Arsenal could also face an FA inquiry after fans fought with stewards and threw objects on to the playing surface. Police reinforcements were needed and the injured steward was unconscious at the side of the pitch for five minutes.
“The player’s goal celebration caused the opposition fans to be aggravated and there was a crowd surge,” a police spokesman said. “One of the objects that were thrown caught a steward and knocked him out. It’s the decision of the club, the ground security and the FA now whether they want to take the incident any further, but it must have been quite horrific for all the stewards at the time.”
Adebayor has apologised for his “mistake”, describing himself as “awfully sorry” and accepting that “emotion took over”. The police intend to express their concerns to City. “It was not the player throwing the missile, but the fans were reacting to him and his celebration,” the spokesman said. “It was the Arsenal fans throwing the missiles, but it was the Manchester City player who was doing the celebrating.”
The FA has confirmed it is investigating both incidents. The FA’s chief executive, Ian Watmore, was at the game and praised the stewards for “doing a great job trying to calm it down” as well as the referee, Mark Clattenburg, who handled the flashpoint “very well”. Adebayor, he said, had to accept responsibility. “I am pretty unimpressed really because the problem between Arsenal fans and Adebayor is well documented. The issue, particularly, is that he ran the whole length of the field. I am unimpressed and I will ask my [disciplinary] team to look very carefully at what he did.”
Image via Telegraph
