Adebayor is looking at a three match ban for shoving his studs down Dutchman Van Persie’s face during a match against Arsenal that saw him score in his fourth consecutive match. Though Manchester City won 4:2, the victory was marred by Van Persie’s accusation of Adebayor deliberately kicking him in the face. This three match ban means Adebayor, also a Togo international, will not to be able to play for Manchester City until October 19.
According to an FA statement, ”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.” Referee Mark Clattenburg advised FA that though he wasn’t privy to the incident, had he been, he would’ve sent Adebayor off.
The stormy Togolese joined Manchester City on 18 July 2009 after signing a five year contract for a transfer fee somewhere in the region of £25 million. Adebayor scored during his debut against Blackburn Rovers, smashing a shot from 18 yards in the third minute! His second match saw him score the only goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers, giving his team a 1:0 win. He headed the ball into the goal during his third consecutive league match versus Portsmouth, which again saw Manchester City win by 1:0. And then came the fourth consecutive goal during the fateful match…
Prior to this, Emmanuel Adebayor was criticized for celebrating a goal by running the entire length of the pitch in front of Arsenal supporters, who almost invaded the pitch and threw objects towards him in anger. He was booked for this, but later apologized. Mark Hughes suggested that Adebayor did this in order to be loved by Manchester City fans.
Adebayor, who was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2008, also plays for his birth country Togo, though he was also eligible to play for Nigeria. He helped Togo to qualify for the 2006 African Cup of Nations, during which he scored 11 goals in the qualifiers! He also played a leading role in Togo’s 2006 World Cup qualification. Though Adebayor failed to score a single goal in the World Cup, and Togo was eliminated during the group stage, he was made team captain after the qualification.
This is not the first time that Adebayor has got into trouble for his impetuosity and temper. During the 2006 African Cup of Nations, he almost left the tournament after a fight with his coach and was once dropped from the team after a row over bonus payments! But Adebayor was brought back into the national Togo team in 2007. Adebayor wears soccer uniform number 25.
