FA to study Arsenal clash

Bendtner and Adebayor clash at White Hart Lane

We lost our calm. Sometimes it is difficult to be calm and it is not easy for some players to be calm. We were too nervous. We have to learn.

William Gallas
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The Football Association are to look at footage of the clash between Arsenal players during the Carling Cup defeat at Spurs.

The move comes after referee Howard Webb confirmed he had not seen the entire incident in which Emmanuel Adebayor appeared to butt teammate Nicklas Bendtner.

Tottenham booked a place at Wembley with a resounding 5-1 win over their arch rivals.

During the closing stages, with the tie already lost, Bendtner - who had earlier scored an own goal - became involved in an altercation with Adebayor, and appeared to complain of being butted by the Togo international.

Arsenal captain William Gallas stepped in to try to calm matters, before being confronted by the angry young Danish striker. Eventually, referee Webb had to intervene to restore order.

As the Yorkshire official revealed he did not witness the events in their entirety, the FA have now asked Sky Sports to provide any relevant television footage.

Once that is obtained, any incidents will be shown to Webb for his opinion.

Charges

Should the referee indicate action would have been taken on the night had he witnessed it first hand, the FA can then retrospectively issue charges against any individuals.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger maintained he was not aware of the incident, while captain Gallas refused to single out anyone for blame.

The France defender said: "I don't know what happened. I think everybody was disappointed with the score and they were nervous.

"They know they made a mistake. Maybe they will speak with the boss to see why they did that."

Gallas added: "We lost our calm. Sometimes it is difficult to be calm and it is not easy for some players to be calm. We were too nervous. We have to learn."