Adebayor charged with violent & improper conduct

The Football Association (FA) yesterday charged Manchester City's Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor with violent and improper conduct for his actions at the Saturday clash with Arsenal, his former club.

During the game at the Eastlands stadium, Adebayor is accused of having deliberately raked his studs across the face of Arsenal's Robin van Persie, his former strike partner, for which he received the violent conduct charged.

The improper conduct allegation relates to Adebayor's ill-considered goal celebrations after he put City 3-1 up. The striker ran the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the visiting fans, a move that sparked unrest on in the stadium that saw police reinforcements called for and an Eastlands steward knocked out by an object thrown from the crowd.

This was an especially provocative gesture given that many Arsenal supporters had barracked the player last season when he represented the club, feeling that he wasn't giving his all despite securing an £80,000 a week pay deal by threatening to leave the Emirates for a bigger club.

The FA didn't comment on a further claim that Adebayor had also committed an unpunished stamp against the Gunners' Spanish captain Cesc Fabregas.

"It looks very bad [for Adebayor]," the Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told the Guardian, claiming that his opposite number at Manchester City had displayed very selective vision in saying there was "no malice" to Adebayor's actions. "You ask 100 people; 99 will say it's very bad and the hundredth will be Mark Hughes."

[Hughes would be within his rights to point out the richness of Wenger attacking a fellow manager for failing to condemn one of his charges - Wenger's plaintive cry of 'I did not see that' is a familiar sound to football fans.]

Wenger continued: "I was surprised that there was such animosity in Adebayor's attitude towards Arsenal because Arsenal was great to him. He will realise that in a few years. That's why I was deeply surprised and shocked. It has now become the case of Man City and the FA and we do not want to interfere in that. But you ask me what my opinion is, did he do it on purpose? I say yes."

Adebayor has until 6pm tonight to respond to the charges, which he is expected to receive at least a five-match ban for, the first of which will be the Manchester derby at the weekend. ·