Adebayor charged by FA

(Top) Robin van Persie is treated by Arsenal physio Colin Lewin after Adebayor’s assault.

(Bottom) How football fans were viewing Adebayor by the end of his Arsenal career.

 

By NIGEL BENSON

The Football Association has charged man City striker Emmanuel Adebayor with violent and improper conduct over his challenge on former Arsenal team-mate Robin van Persie and  provocative goal celebration.
Adebayor has until tomorrow night (Thursday NZT) to respond to the violent conduct charge and until September 30 to reply to the one relating to the goal celebration.
Adebayor, signed by City from Arsenal for 25 million pounds last month, has been accused of deliberately stamping on van Persie during Saturday’s match in what the Dutch striker has condemned as a “mindless and malicious” assault.
The Togo international also sprinted the length of the pitch to celebrate his goal in front of the Arsenal supporters.
A steward was knocked unconscious by a missile thrown from the Arsenal section of the ground and Adebayor’s conduct has been severely criticised by Manchester police.
He was given a yellow card for improper conduct immediately following the celebration.
Referee Mark Clutterbuck told the FA that he did not see the attack on van Persie, but that he would have sent Adebayor off for violent conduct if he had seen it.
It is expected Adebayor will receive a three-match suspension on the first charge.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said Adebayor deserved to be sanctioned for the vicious challege that left van Persie nursing a badly cut cheek.
“Did you watch it? If you
ve watched football for 20 years, you know as well as me what a player can do. You can ease off or not ease off. The biggest thing is in a challenge.
“I played football and I know exactly, in a fraction of a second, where you leave in or move out. You know exactly at that fraction, I can injure somebody or I can not injure somebody, and you ease off or you leave in. I have seen some challenges where if you do that in the street, you go to jail. It [the challenge on Van Persie] looks very bad. You ask 100 people, 99 will say it
s very bad and the hundredth will be Mark Hughes.”
The FA announced that “under the fast-track disciplinary process, Adebayor has been charged with violent conduct following an incident with Robin van Persie, which resulted in the Arsenal player receiving facial injuries”.
Wenger said Adebayor would one day look back and realise what he owed to Arsenal, who plucked him from obscurity at Monaco in January, 2006.
“My thought is that Emmanuel Adebayor deserves to be charged for what he did,” Wenger said.
“But I was surprised that there was such animosity in his attitude towards Arsenal because in a few years he will realise that Arsenal has been great for him. That is why I was deeply surprised and shocked.
“Only he can say if he will regret leaving. All I can say is that is life and professional football players move on. In life, the goal is to be objective enough in seeing who helped you and who didn’t help you, who had a positive influence on you or not.
“You can sometimes be disappointed in the short term. But still I believe that when you take distance with the events, you always get to the right judgement. I think the longer distance will make Adebayor realise that Arsenal was a very positive influence in his life.”

Sanity prevails as UEFA back down on Eduardo ban

 

Eduardo scores from the spot against Celtic.

By NIGEL BENSON

Sanity has prevailed as UEFA backed down on the two-match suspension handed to Arsenal striker Eduardo for alleged diving.
The Croatian was initially suspended for allegedly diving to win a penalty against Celtic in
Arsenal’s Champions League qualifier at the Emirates last month.
Eduardo successfully converted the spot-kick himself and The Gunners went on to win the game 3-1.  Following pressure from the Scottish FA and Celtic, UEFA began an investigation, which Gunners boss Arsene Wenger condemned as a “witch-hunt”.
Arsenal lodged an immediate appeal against the ban and, following an independent appeals panel hearing, UEFA announced the ban has been quashed.
“Following examination of all the evidence, notably the declarations of both the referee and the referees’ assessor, as well as the various video footage, it was not established to the panel’s satisfaction that the referee had been deceived in taking his decision on the penalty,” the football authority announced.
“Therefore, the decision of the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body of 1 September, in which the player was suspended for two UEFA club competition matches, is annulled.”
Eduardo, who has stoically suffered abuse from other fans since the incident, said he was pleased reason had prevailed.
“I’m very pleased that we have finally arrived at the truth. All we needed to do was to prove what happened and we have managed to do that. This decision makes me feel a lot better,” he said after UEFA’s about-turn.
“All I remember of the incident is that as soon as I had possession of the ball I headed towards goal at full speed. I was very close to the Celtic keeper and felt contact on my foot and then lost my balance. I know perhaps more than anyone else that when you have contact at speed it can be dangerous.
“I just want to say that I’m a fair player. To score goals you must take your opportunities and I’m not the type of player who needs to be dishonest to score goals.”
Arsenal had been furious with the initial ban and welcomed UEFA’s action.
“We are grateful that the appeal body focused on the evidence and made the right decision in this case.
“We were able to show that there was contact between the goalkeeper and Eduardo and that the decision of the UEFA disciplinary body should be annulled.
“We fully support the drive for fair play in football and believe it is important that UEFA provide clear and comprehensive standards that will be consistently enforced going forward.”
Arsenal also argued that Eduardo, whose leg was shattered by 6’4” Birmingham defender Martin Taylor in February, 2008, took evasive action to avoid a repeat of the nearly career-ending injury, which it took more than year to recover from.
“I know perhaps more than anyone else that when you have contact at speed it can be dangerous,” the striker said.
Eduardo is now eligible for Arsenal’s Champions League clash against Standard Liege on Thursday morning (NZT).
“I was always prepared for the match in Belgium, because I had good feeling and I always remained positive about the outcome,” he said.

 

 

 

 

Attention deficit disorder… it’s Adebayor!

By NIGEL BENSON

Man City striker Emmanuel Adebayor faces a significant ban after his first match against former-club Arsenal at the weekend.
Manchester police blamed the Togolese player for sparking the crowd disorder that led to a steward being knocked unconscious during Arsenal’s 2-4 loss to Man City at Eastlands on Sunday morning (NZT).
Police reinforcements had to be called in, as the injured steward laid 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.”
The 25 million striker, whose apathy and lackadaisical attitude saw him hounded out of the Emirates in the off-season, will almost certainly face sanctions for celebrating a goal by running the length of the pitch to antagonise the Arsenal supporters.
Adebayor also faces a three-match ban for his cowardly stamp on Robin van Persie, which left the Arsenal striker with a gashed cheekbone and accusing his former team-mate of a “mindless and malicious” assault.
Football Association chief executive Ian Watmore, who was at the match, said Adebayor would have to answer to his actions.
“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.”
City manager Mark Hughes attempted to explain Adebayor’s brain implosion, describing his actions as “sad”.
“He really loved his time at Arsenal, he will tell you that himself, but for whatever reason he wasn’t appreciated by their fans towards the end and that is hard to take as a professional footballer. You want to be loved by your own fans because you get enough abuse from the opposition’s. That was the feeling behind it, I’m sure.”
Television replays of the assault on van Persie have incensed Arsenal players and management.
“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,” Watmore said.
Despite showing early promise, Adebayor became an unpopular figure in the Arsenal dressing room, after he head-butted team-mate Nicklas Bendtner during a League Cup match in January, 2008.

Arsenal to appeal Eduardo ban

 

Eduardo puts away the controversial penalty against Celtic in the UEFA Champions League qualifier.

By NIGEL BENSON

Arsenal will vigorously appeal the two match ban handed down to Croatian striker Eduardo da Silva after he was charged with deceiving the referee in last week’s Champions League play-off against Celtic at the Emirates.
A statement on UEFA’s official website confirmed the punishment.
“The UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body today examined the case of the Arsenal FC player Eduardo for deceiving the referee during the UEFA Champions League play-off second leg match on 26 August against Celtic FC, and has suspended the player for two UEFA club competition matches.”
Arsene Wenger reacted angrily to the news that his player was to be charged last week, calling it a “witchhunt”.

Arsenal have three days to appeal the decision.

The club had presented a detailed 19-page submission to UEFA’s control and disciplinary body but, following a meeting via teleconference, the authority ruled that Eduardo was guilty of deceiving the referee in winning the penalty last Wednesday against Celtic.

If the appeal is unsuccessful, Eduardo will miss the group matches against Standard Liege and Olympiakos.

The matter is now likely to move to UEFA’s appeals committee, which could overturn the suspension or recommend that it is downgraded to one match.

The football world was quick to support the Croatian, who had his leg shattered in a horror tackle at Birmingham last year.
“Eduardo didn’t fall theatrically. There was some contact at first and he fell afterwards, Croatia FA president Vlatko Markovic said.

“Besides Eduardo has such a light physical build that he can be knocked over by a strong gust of wind. But Eduardo is not such a person or such a type that would be capable of simulating.”

The referee who awarded the penalty, Manuel Gonzalez, has also defended his decision after Eduardo went down in the box after a challenge by Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc.
“I made the decision honestly and during the game from my position,” Gonzalez said.
“The Celtic players were very upset but my decision was based on what I saw. My assistant also confirmed my decision.”
Meanwhile, Abou Diaby has revealed his anguish at scoring an own goal at Old Trafford in the 1-2 loss to Man Utd at the weekend.
“I have to forget it,” 23-year-old midfielder told The Sun.
“I made a silly mistake and it’s difficult to explain what happened. The goalkeeper [Manuel Almunia] called out to me to leave the ball, but it’s all my fault. Even when I look back at the images I ask myself what happened, and I tell myself that it’s just not possible.”

 

Travesty at Old Trafford

Arsenal 1 Man Utd 2 

Andrey Arshavin celebrates his brilliant opener at Old Trafford.

By NIGEL BENSON

Grrrrr!
The first miserable Monday of the season… enduring taunts from non-Gooner workmates all morning.
The 1-2 reverse at Old Trafford at the weekend was a devastating loss for many reasons.
It was our first defeat of the season, after a scintillating opening stanza.
This team of young guns only needs one big win to cement its confidence, and it should have
come at the home of last year’s champions on Sunday morning (NZT).
The opportunity was begging, as Arsenal were a class above united for most of the match, with
the home side chasing shadows and clinging to a game plan which revolved around Darren
Fletcher kicking lumps out of our players.
But, once again, our inexperience conspired to grab defeat from the jaws of victory.
My doubts about goalkeeper Manual Almunia continue with the peroxide-haired keeper
largely to blame for both goals.
His brainless challenge on Wayne Rooney, when the striker had overhit the ball and was no
threat to goal, handed united a predictable penalty and put a big dent in our confidence. �
As an Arsenal and football fan, I was embarrassed at Eduardo’s unnecessary penalty gaff
against Celtic.
But fans of every team have tired for years of the soft penalties given at OT.
And Wayne Rooney, in particular, has become a hate figure for his blatant cheating.
It’s not the first time Arsenal has been on the end of a poor penalty decision involving a diving Rooney
at Old Trafford.
Although referee Mike Dean, who was half the pitch away, confirmed his mediocrity by hastily giving the spotkick.
Almunia dived the wrong way and united were back in the game.
Arsenal had bossed the first half and deservedly went ahead in the 40th minute through a stunning 20-metre strike by Andrei Arshavin.
A minute before the goal Arsenal had a clear-cut penalty denied when Arshavin was brought
down by Fletcher.
United were in disarray at halftime and looked out of the match.
But Almunia’s 59th minute clanger changed all that.
Minutes later, Ryan Giggs floated an inoffensive ball into the box.
Diaby, who was under no pressure, obviously didn’t get a call from Almunia and so he attacked the ball… and promptly turned it into his own net.
Unbelievable.
A more dominant goalkeeper would have turned the situation into a non-event. Almunia remains, in my view, the weak link in Arsenal’s armour.
The frustrating thing is that we continue to make naive mistakes when vital players are injured which are costing us results.
It was shades of rookie defender Keiran Gibbs’ gaff in the EUFA Champions League semi-final last year, when he slipped over and gave a way a goal in the opening minutes.
Diaby spoiled another excellent match with his own-goal.
But, again, I would ask what Almunia was doing during that goal. That ball had “keeper’s” written all over it and our Spanish goalie is one of the most experienced players in our team.
It was not all bad news for Gooners, though. Even Man Utd fan friends have conceded that Arsenal was the superior team.
Hopefully, this loss will encourage Arsene to bolster our squad before the transfer market door slams shut tomorrow (Tuesday NZ time).
Soon after, Robin van Persie hit the united crossbar with a thumping free kick, before turning the ball into the net in injury time only to see William Gallas ruled offside.
Arsene kicked out at a water bottle in frustration and was bizarrely ordered off the bench and sent to the stands by the inept referee Dean.
The Referee’s Association has confirmed it will apologise to Arsenal for the officials’ performance.
A bit like losing a tenner and finding 50p, though…
Arsenal next play Manchester City on Saturday, September 12.

Arsenal: Manuel Almunia, Bacary Sagna, William Gallas, Thomas Vermaelen, Gael Clichy, Denilson (79), Alex Song, Andrey Arshavin (81), Abou Diaby, Emmanuel Eboue (71), Robin van Persie.
Substitutes: Eduardo (79), Mikael Silvestre, Aaron Ramsey (81), Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs, Nicklas Bendtner (71), Vito Mannone.