Adebayor: I did nothing wrong

Emmanuel Adebayor protested his innocence after his Carling Cup final red card.

The Togo international was given a red card - along with Kolo Toure and John Obi Mikel - following a mass shoving match that erupted in the final moments of Chelsea's 2-1 victory in Cardiff.

Even Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger entered the field of play in an attempt to calm the situation, and, after order was restored, Adebayor was given his marching orders.

The striker protested angrily to referee Howard Webb following the decision, and appeared after the conclusion of the game to insist he merely attempted to play a peacemaker's role in the row.

"My reaction after the card did not mean I wanted to hit the referee - I just wanted to know why he gave me the red card," said Adebayor.

"I was just trying to tell him that, when I came there, it was not for fighting, it was for breaking down people getting angry with each other.

"People told me I had to go, and I said I just want to ask the referee why he gave me a red card.

"I do not think I did anything wrong.

"I had just come on, we were 2-1 down and I remember that Kolo had the ball, and someone was pushing him - he fell down.

"He was getting really angry and wanted to exchange words with the player. I just ran over there to breakdown everything, trying to stop Kolo and also [Emmanuel] Eboue.

"I think [Wayne] Bridge came on to me. I cannot remember if I pushed him or not. At that moment, you have a lot of things in your head.

"If you see one Chelsea player behind you, you think he is going to maybe hit you.

"The referee said I hit somebody, but I cannot remember that. I was just trying to stop everything and I got the red card. It is not fair, but that is football."

Toure and Mikel became entangled in the incident that preceded the mass brawl, and the Gunners defender apologised for his actions at The Millennium Stadium.

"Right now I am just a little bit angry because Chelsea tried to spend time - to make up time - and I was just unhappy and I reacted to that," Toure told Sky Sports.

"I did not want to hurt anybody and I think that the referee made his decision and what can we do about that? But I am really sorry about what I did."

Any players dismissed for violent conduct will be handed a three-game ban, and Gunners boss Wenger has conceded he fears The Football Association will take further action against his players.

"I'm sure they will be punished once or twice," the Frenchman stated.