The Guessing Game: Emmanuel Adebayor’s Suspension.

By: chris | September 14th, 2009

Despite all their successes this weekend bringing them closer and closer to legitimacy, Manchester City are still left with a bit to clean up before getting back on with the football. Specifically, they have to clean up Emmanuel Adebayor’s mess, as the new boy in blue is looking at a whole host of problems – legal and otherwise – after his shenanigans on the weekend. And yes, that’s plural, as Adebayor is under review for two incidents which leave us wondering just how many brain cells are bounding around upstairs.

The first is in that handy gif with little explanation necessary: after knocking the ball away, he jumped on former teammate Robin van Persie’s hand. At first it was a “did he or didn’t he?” moment, but further replays, such as the one above which shows him looking down before hitting RvP’s hand, lead us to reason he did. Robin’s not happy, and neither are the boys upstairs.

The second is below and is also painfully simple in its explanation: Adebayor scored a goal and sprinted the full length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the fans…the Arsenal fans. Gooners, as one might expect, were mildly displeased and wound up in something of a kerfuffle. A kerfuffle which resulted in minor riots and an injured steward – making this a serious matter to people who determine serious matters.

So these “incidents” have prompted review boards the country over to hit their underground Batlairs for secret meetings and discussions on how to punish Emmanuel – if he’s due a spanking at all. But while the “hand stamp” would seem to be the more malicious, it’s the crowd instigation drawing the ire of the Greater Manchester police. You don’t want to draw the ire of the police.

Now it’s not that the popo will suspend Adebayor, it’s that bringing the police into the frame for an on-field action brings the game into all sorts of disrepute and will surely piss off Scudamore & Friends to the highest order. Throw in the hand stamp and Adebayor’s in deep, pardon the English, shit.

Some are already speculating (strongly) the hand stamp will be worth a three game ban with a mystery bonus possible for the crowd instigation. So we’ll play the guessing game: will it be three for the hand stamp plus? Will they stop at the three? Will it be less? Or will it be a substantial suspension for each action? Adebayor apologized swiftly, but that’s not usually enough to sway the suits that make these decisions.

For starters, I’ll go ahead and say five. It just seems the standard course of action to come down hard on mindless infractions these days, and this would just be another on the notch of disciplinary committees the world over.

[Gif & vid via 101 Great Goals]