Arsene Wenger has hit out at the FA
for charging Emmanuel Adebayor for his conduct at the Carling Cup
final, insisting his player did not punch Frank Lampard.
Speaking after his team's shock FA Cup exit to Blackburn Rovers on
Wednesday night, Wenger could not hide his displeasure at the
charges meted out from the weekend's debacle at the Millennium
Stadium.
Chelsea and Arsenal's rivalry descended into chaos in Cardiff, in a
brawl that saw the Gunners' Togolese striker red-carded.
Adebayor has since denied a charge of acting aggressively and
failing to leave the field of play following the decision, and
Wenger has backed his star, claiming in no uncertain terms that the
match report is untrue.
"I feel we were really unlucky to lose Adebayor. Especially under
the circumstances we lost him," Wenger told Sky Sports News.
"I don't agree at all with the match report, with what the linesman
said. It's a complete lie what is said in the match report and we
cannot accept that.
"The linesman said that Adebayor punched Lampard. I would like to
ask Lampard if he was punched by Adebayor.
"I feel the whole decision from the FA is wrong. There's a lot of
things in there that are not true.
"I don't want to prove anything. I'm just giving my opinion. There
are players that have punched that haven't been charged."
Adebayor has meanwhile requested a personal hearing over his case,
which is set to take place on Tuesday. Emmanuel Eboue has also
denied a charge of violent conduct against Wayne Bridge and his
case will be heard on Thursday.
