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CITY PREPARE ADEBAYOR APPEAL
Manchester City are reportedly preparing an appeal against Emmanuel Adebayor's double FA charge.
The City striker was charged with both improper conduct (for his goal celebration) and violent conduct (for his alleged stamp on Robin van Persie's head) after their 4-2 win over Arsenal on Saturday.
According to The Daily Telegraph, City are continuing talks with their legal team over a potential appeal against the charge of violent conduct, which they must lodge by 6pm on Wednesday.
City are apparently desperate to ensure Adebayor is available for Sunday's Manchester derby, with Carlos Tevez, Robinho and Roque Santa Cruz all doubtful, leaving Craig Bellamy as their only fit senior striker.
The paper reports that Mark Clattenburg, the man in charge at the City of Manchester Stadium, has confirmed that he would have dismissed Adebayor if he had seen the incident, which is curious given that the official was five yards away with an unimpeded view.
Should City lodge their appeal in time, the FA will consider the case on Thursday, and if found guilty Adebayor will face a three match ban. The forward has until September 30 to respond to the improper conduct charge.
The paper reports that City are monitoring similar charges against Nottingham Forest's Nathan Tyson - who was charged after celebrating with a corner flag in front of Derby fans - closely, as they believe it could establish a precedent.
They also may point to Gary Neville's punishment - a £5,000 fine and a warning - after he celebrated in front of Liverpool fans at Old Trafford in 2006.
When asked about the incident, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said: "It looks very bad. You ask 100 people; 99 will say it's very bad and the hundredth will be Mark Hughes.
"I shouldn't have to answer that question.
"But you watched it, you have watched football for years, you know as well as me what a player can do. You can always ease off or not ease off. I played football and I know exactly, in a fraction of a second, when you master well your body, where you leave in or you move out. You know exactly at that fraction, 'I can injure somebody or I can not injure somebody' and you ease off or you leave in."
