Adebayor 'butts teammate'

Gunners strike duo fight amongst themselves

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 23rd January 2008

emmanuel adebayor nicklas bendtner tottenham v arsenal

Face off: Bendtner and Adebayor have words

Related links

Teams

Players

Also see

Emmanuel Adebayor appeared to butt Arsenal team-mate Nicklas Bendtner during Tuesday's 5-1 Carling Cup semi-final second leg defeat to Spurs.

The Togolese striker came on as a second-half substitute during the Gunners' disappointing exit from the competition, and with the side already 4-0 down by the time he was introduced his frustration eventually got the better of him.

As the pair waited for Cesc Fabregas to swing in a late corner Adebayor suddenly lashed out at Bendtner partner, cutting the Danish striker's nose and forcing shocked team-mates to step in and pull the warring duo apart.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger claimed afterwards that he had not see the incident saying: "I don't know what you're talking about."

Mistake

But club captain William Gallas witnessed the clash at close quarters and admitted that the behaviour of the duo was unacceptable.

"They know they have made a mistake and they will have to explain why they did that," the Frenchman said in The Sun.

"I don't know exactly what happened. I think everyone was disappointed about the score. It was very difficult to accept.

"They are both young and nervous but they have to understand. We lost our calm."

Match referee Howard Webb took no action against either player at the time but the pair could still face disciplinary action after the footage has been studied by an FA panel.

Comments

Rob Lapham (Manchester United fan) says...

So good to see Tottenham break such a long run of losses at the hands of Arsenal. This will hopefully be the incentive they need to raise their game back to the standard needed to compete on a level footing with all the other Premiership teams.

Posted 12:12 23rd January 2008

Graham Seagroatt (Arsenal fan) says...

Here we go everyone jumping on the we hate arsenal bandwagon. Lets think for a minute eh, spurs cant field a 2nd team like us, they cant play football like us, and they cant beat us in the league can they. At the end of the day they beat a very weak arsenal side well done, but when did they last win anything? answer cant remember, are they second in the table NO are they in the champions league NO have they been in the top four since the league began NO are they going to qualify next year for europe NO

Posted 12:03 23rd January 2008

Toby Hughes (Arsenal fan) says...

I just could not watch. Arsenal were poor and totally without spirit or skill. Spurs were not that much better,lets recall there defeats against much lesser sides than Arsenal.!! I just think Wenger needs to re-assess his players. We need a good central midfielder another class central defender and maybe another striker. Steven taylor,Julio baptista and maybe a disgruntled Deco???mmm who knows

Posted 12:02 23rd January 2008

Chris Carolan (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...

Look i agree with most of the comments below. But i don't think some of you are giving Spurs the credit they deserve. Firstly Arsenal didn't have a second string out on the pitch. I'm not 100% sure but how many first team players were missing??? Don't say Almunia cause i don't rate him very highly and even if he was there there wouldn't have been much he could do about the goals....Except maybe Keanes one that went under him. Torre is away on international Duty so even if it was a league match he wouldn't have played. I reckon if you look at stats on the games that Ledley King has played in the last 3 years compared to the ones he hasn't you would see a massive difference in results. I know he is only one player but again all you have to do is look at Michael Dawson at the start of the season and look at him now. At the start he could do nothing right now he is back to the way he was last season and the season before and i think this is because of King. I just hope this result gives Spurs a lift and maybe we can try and give Man U a half decent game on Sunday in the FA Cup

Posted 11:53 23rd January 2008

Joseph Kutsawa (Manchester United fan) says...

I think Arsenal lost to a very good Tottenham team on the day. There where only about 2-3 regular players missing there so Credit should go to the winners rather than talking about the fact that Arsenal did not use all their senior players. Wenger put a team which he thought was good enough to beat Tottenham but he was proved very wrong!!! I was surprised Wenger did not see the butt incident!! If it was a Totenham play who did it to Bendtner then he was going to go on and on with the incident and maybe claim that he saw it!!!

Posted 11:51 23rd January 2008

Ray Harrison says...

The incident should be sorted internally. Arsenal were well beaten. Spurs can only play the team put out before them. If the "BIG" four want to play second string teams then they have to pay the consequences if it goes wrong. Some second string team having said that. Look at our squad. Derby Ram.

Posted 11:49 23rd January 2008

Andrew Goszka (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...

How predictable that Arsenal fans are coming out and saying that it was only a bunch of reserves we beat. These are, according to most gooners, the Arsenal stars of the future, the brightest prospects in the league. And they go out and get spanked like this? There were actually a few players playing that can be considered 1st team (Sagna, Gallas, Gilberto, Fabregas played 80 mins). As for Adebayor headbutting Bendtner, this is just a case of Arsenal not knowing how to graciously handle defeat. And was there really any point in even asking Wenger if he saw it? If it was a spurs player who headbutted Bendtner, then no doubt he would have. But no, his team can never set a foot wrong, despite their awful disciplinary record. I would like to join all Spurs fans and most neutral fans in congratulating the team on giving Arsenal a well deserved humiliation!

Posted 11:44 23rd January 2008

Gerard Doyle (Birmingham City fan) says...

Congrats to Spurs first of all. Last nights team was stronger than a reserve/ youth team but was stil not a first eleven. Credit to Spurs- you can only beat whats put in front of you and they were really good last night. However lets put some perspective on things- this is the first time this century spurs have beaten us! Enjoy it while it last. I have to laugh at all the Man Utd fans- where were you when your ¿100 million 'reserve' team were beaten by Coventry City a few months back!!!

Posted 11:41 23rd January 2008

Che Nkoloma (Arsenal fan) says...

The events that took place were unfortunate both the results and the fight between Adebayor and Bendtner. As Arsenal we just need to refocus we can't win all games these things happen. The good that came from all this a lesson learnt by the Arsenal young players they will 4 sure play in many more cup games and will be even stronger but the experience they have aquired is very valuable. The bad side is they reached the final last time and now out at the semi final stage it will definately hurt but life goes on.

Posted 11:33 23rd January 2008

Mark T (Arsenal fan) says...

Fair enough we were out played and outclassed last night.. Good job by spurs. But and lets not forget it took you 22 games to do that, and to be fair it was only the carling cup. When you beat us in the premier league or FA cup or dare i say the Champions Leauge (if you know what that is) then you can come back and gloat or even when you actually have some silverware like the premier league in your trophy cabinet. :) In respect to Adebayour and Bendter what a pair of idiots! They should be fined and banned by the club. Anyway...hopefully Newcastle will feel the full force of retribution this weekend.

Posted 11:29 23rd January 2008

Simon Sharp (Arsenal fan) says...

Give credit were credit is, Tottenham did play well last night and deserved to go through, even if it was against a second string Arsenal team. No one can say that it wasnt as the only players who will play in the first team week in week out were Sagna, Hleb and Gallas. Fabregas did play alot of the game and show glimpses of just how good he is, Adebayor may have only made a breif aperance but he did score a great goal. The Carling Cup shows just how much faith Wenger has in his youg players as no other team plays a full team of backup players. Even if they do, as soon as they draw Arsenal they feild a much stronger squad than before. Even though Spurs did play well if you look at the stats Arsenal domiated the game but Spurs just took there chances better. The score could have easily been in Arsenals favour. As for Adebayor and Bendtner, they should both be heavily fined and made to sit down and talk it out within the confinds of the club.

Posted 11:26 23rd January 2008

Bob The builder (Gillingham fan) says...

Guys, will you stop all this nonsense about arsenal fielding a 2nd eleven!!, it was wengers decision and that was it!, they still had enough experienced players on the pitch to play, such sore losers!!! well played tottenham though well deserved, hopefully see you guys next season !! Arsenal fans learn to accept defeat rather than come up with excuses, and two team mates fighting sums up the current situation. hahaha!!

Posted 11:26 23rd January 2008

Emeka Aneke (Chelsea fan) says...

There's nothing new seeing teammates have disagreement especially, when things are not going their way. The problem here is that when it comes to Emmanuel Adebayor it degenerates into a fist fight, irrespective of who or where. Just after Togo, against all odds, qualified for the World Cup 2006, Adebayor had a fight with the Manager - Stephen Keshi - which led to Keshi eventually dismissal. Well, to cut a long story short, statistics shows how much that incident affected the team as they did not win any match in the WC or even the preceding African Nation Cup. Unfortunately, Togolese Football Federation makes Adebayor feel that he is some sort of Maradona...that his wish is their command. This has not helped at all, as he has become more and more delinquent. Keshi, who was later re-employed by TFF, said recently in an interview, that Emmanuel is a very exceptional player when he is not being childish. I hope this time, for his own sake, he's not found to be the aggressor.

Posted 11:24 23rd January 2008

Jon Betts (Newcastle United fan) says...

They both got frustrated and lashed out at each other. It's not just Adebayor to blame, Bendtner also had words with Gallas another time. They are so used to winning that they got very frustrated that they were owned by Spurs! I feel they FA should leave it up to Arsenal to sort it out, and hopefully Wenger will fine them, leave them out, hopefully something to teach them a lesson. On another note, Arsene only said he didn't see it as he may not have seen everything that went on. Every manager wants to protect their players, but nobody can condone that, so i'm sure he'll do what is necessary

Posted 11:18 23rd January 2008

Joshua Igbis (Arsenal fan) says...

Wow! Liam Dowd...that is very harsh on Adebayor! Earlier this season when he packed two goals against Tottenham at White Hart Lane, you must have been jubilating!...Now because of one misunderstanding & a loss, he is a disgrace? Lets remember what Adebayor has done for the team in the time he has been consistently playing...Personally, I feel that in games where there was a possibilty we would lose, he has scored e.g. against Newcastle (and we didn't lose that game). As for the match, Arsenal had to lose at some point to Tottenham...it was bound to happen. At the end of the day, we still know who the better team is overall...Simply, If you don't play Champions League football on a regular basis i.e. season after season, then it's just because you're not good enough, and that's what Tottenham are....not good enough! So people with broad smiles on their faces getting all excited about the defeat should relax cos the Gunners never run out of ammo!! Time to reload guys...!

Posted 11:01 23rd January 2008

Kevin Jones (Manchester United fan) says...

I dont understand..!! could some1 please explain how people are justifying Tottenham's win by claiming they were playing Arsenal's 2nd Eleven..?? CRAZY..!! Firstly even if it was their 2nd Eleven, they recieve praise when they win sooo well.. so they should be able to take criticism when they are battered.. ok back to my original point.. No Almunia No clichy no adebayor (to start) and no flamini.. Fabregas played 80 minutes, Torre is away, Almunia isnt that good, Flamini was a sub all last year.. The only big loss on the list of missing starting players is Adebayor (who also played 30 mins) and all he does is headbutt his own team mates.. So please dont say it was Arsenals 2nd eleven because it really wasnt.. bottom line arsenal got beat pretty bad.. full credit to Tottenham, they havent recieved a beating that good since 6-1 at old trafford.. !!

Posted 10:27 23rd January 2008

Yohan Arnold (Manchester United fan) says...

LOL!!!!Seriously u didnt see it?! i mean did u blink away at that very second. Listen its hard i know it is but u know its part of the game u were eventually going to get beat by your rivals and it were going to be big. At least Mr.Wenger has the chance to say it was his kids that got beat, if thats any comfort. Take the defeat like a man. Just hgold on to that 2nd place

Posted 10:25 23rd January 2008

Liam Dowd (Arsenal fan) says...

Congratulations tottenham - you totally outclassed us. Was watching last night in awe. Adebayor was a disgrace and embarassment to the club - he needs to be sold as soon as possible. It is quite clear he is getting to big for his boots at arsenal and even clearer he will never be anything like the messiah henry that he seems to spend half his life impersonating. Thanks for nothing Adebayor - your a disgrace !

Posted 10:22 23rd January 2008

Keith Bird (Arsenal fan) says...

Wenger says he does not see things because it is best to comment on things once you have all the facts. This is common sense. Plus it does not give the interviewers what they want which is a knee jerk reaction. Look at managers who moan about the disallowed offside goal or penalty not given, only for Sky to show the clip directly afterwards to prove them wrong. The word MUG comes to mind and that is definitely not what Wenger is. Anyway going back to the match. I can just about bear last night if this only happens once every 22 games. Majority second string or not, to lose by such a margin is always a bummer. Ade needs to be reprimanded quickly and hard. I just hope this loss does not bring on a losing streak like last year. "Keep The Fath".

Posted 10:18 23rd January 2008

Graeme Ashby (Arsenal fan) says...

I was appaled at the behaviour of Adebayor and Bendtner last night. but i dont think it should be handled by the FA, i think it should be handled in house, they should both be fined and completely left out of the next premier league game as punishment, or something like that. i am actually ashamed of how badly Arsenal played last night, the Carling Cup was the best way to prove to teams around us like Chelsea and Utd, Liverpool too, that we were serious league title contenders and not lucky to be where we are in the league. we get beat that badly by a Spurs team who have only been remotely good since Ramos came into the picture and i personally feel we'll be out of the FA Cup on saturday aswell now. Arsenal needed to prove they could win something after so long without silverware and the balls it up bigtime! last nights result was appaling, embaressing and just plain awful. as for Wenger saying the Carling Cup wasnt the priority, thats crap...any competition where you can win a trophy after 3 years without one should be priority! as for you Spurs fans...lap up all this glory of beating Arsenal cos it aint going to happen for another 8-9 years, Spurs are not as good as Arsenal. i'll admit that Spurs played very well over the 2 legs but Arsenal were awful. Arsenal on their best day would have beaten Spurs, they've already done it twice this season. oh and i think you'll find that most Managers dont see incidents! it isnt just Wenger. atleast he doesnt moan about the referee every week, Ferguson hides behind Carlos Queros every time Utd lose, Grant moans about refs as did Mourinho. and Benitez does his fair bit of moaning aswell, so its not just Wenger.

Posted 10:09 23rd January 2008

Page 1 of 3

Add Comment*

All fields are required

Are you a Sky Sports subscriber?

Character Count : 0/1950

Please tick here if you wish to receive emails relating to Sky Sports.com or any other companies, services or products related to Sky Sports.com

Please send me the weekly Sky Sportszine - exclusive content, features and competitions to my inbox every Friday.

*All fields required, your email address will be kept private