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| Arsenal and Chelsea await FA rap |
2/26/2007 |
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Arsenal and Chelsea are braced for Football Association action after the Carling Cup final ended in a brawl.
The Gunners had Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor sent off, while Chelsea''s Mikel Jon Obi also saw red.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho both ran on to the pitch to try to calm the players.
Wenger said: "I am sure the players will be punished. Will it be once or twice? With the FA you always have a good chance to worry."
Interview: Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho
Interview: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
Interview: Chelsea''s Frank Lampard
Referees'' chief Keith Hackett has called on the FA to take action and praised the way referee Howard Webb dealt with the incident.
"Howard and his assistants had a good game on that incident which was out of character from the rest of the match," said Hackett, general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Board.
"They dealt calmly and firmly with it and after consultation Howard took appropriate action.
"His report will go into the FA today and they will look at those unseemly situations that arose. It was a pity because it was a fantastic game."
Hackett also criticised the two managers for getting involved.
Sometimes mature people lose control of their emotions
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho
"This will be looked at by the FA. It was done with all good intentions but what we need is for those other than players to stay off the field, apart from security."
The brawl began when Toure was dragged back by Mikel, prompting an angry reaction from the Arsenal defender.
In the ensuing melee, Emmanuel Eboue clashed with Wayne Bridge, leaving the Chelsea left-back on the ground.
After consulting with his assistant, Webb showed red cards to Mikel, Toure and Adebayor and cautioned Frank Lampard and Cesc Fabregas.
The game was further delayed when a protesting Adebayor had to be dragged from the pitch by Arsenal physio Gary Lewin.
Ivory Coast international Toure said: "I apologise for this moment, and I regret my actions.
"Chelsea were winning and were starting to waste time, and I was not happy with that, which is why I went to Mikel and had some words with him.
"Then Lampard came in and maybe made the thing bigger than it was, but that is part of football."
Gunners striker Adebayor said: "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.
"I do not think I did anything wrong."
606 DEBATE: What will happen to Adebayor?
Mourinho said the incidents were disappointing but understandable.
"Sometimes mature people lose control of their emotions," he said.
"You cannot kill a player because something happened. If Mikel did something wrong, it is not my job to kill him, it is my job to educate him."
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