Filed under: Arsenal, Tottenham, Champions League, Europa League (UEFA), Premier League, Football
Emmanuel Adebayor has spoken of the chants directed his way during the North London derby on Sunday as both Tottenham and Arsenal vowed to ban for life anyone proved to have been singing them.During Tottenham's 2-1 victory at White Hart Lane, Arsenal fans directed their vitriol at the man who used to play for them but now appears in the colours of their rivals by mocking the machine-gun attack on Adebayor and his Togo team-mates in Angola last year.
That, you will recall, left three of them dead and Adebayor has now been quoted in The Sun as saying: "The songs that they sung about me were very bad but was I surprised? No. Disappointed? Yes.
"Obviously it was all meant to hurt me, to upset me, to anger me. But I am so glad I kept my dignity in the face of people behaving like that."
True, football could do without such bad-taste chants, with Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp correctly pointing out that it sent entirely the wrong message to the younger generation of supporters.
And Tottenham put out an appeal to their own support on their official website, saying: "You do not have to put up with mindless supporters who are intent on ruining your day, so use the system, report the individuals and let us take it from there."
It was the same message from Arsenal. "We do not tolerate discrimination of any sort at the club, on the pitch or in the stands. If you experience any form of discrimination at Emirates Stadium, please report this by texting 67777 or contact a matchday steward," their statement read.
All well and good but Adebayor also knows he brought the abuse upon himself by his goal-celebration antics in front of the Arsenal support when he scored for Manchester City in 2009.
That saw him run almost the full length of the pitch to reach the away support and that particular game saw him accused of deliberately kicking Robin van Persie, now the Arsenal captain, in the face.
Will Cesc Fabregas get such a reaction the first time he plays for Barcelona against Arsenal? No, of course not as the Spain midfielder was always respectful towards the fans even when he had set his mind upon a move. Samir Nasri will get some stick for choosing City's offer of a far fatter pay-packet but no-one is likely to wish him dead.
So Adebayor brought the torment upon himself in many ways. It doesn't excuse it of course, but it certainly does explain it. And therefore he does deserve credit for keeping his cool this time.
The player himself has clearly grown up. But it is churlish to expect the fans to as, let us not forget, it was the Tottenham contingent who used to give renditions of uncomplimentary songs about Adebayor and his family not so long ago.
True, references to elephants getting washed do not equate to sick death wishes but you simply have to ask Sol Campbell about how unpleasant Tottenham supporters can really be when in full voice.
Good luck, then, with the attempts to use CCTV to pin-point the perpetrators therefore but the only way you will ever get rid of the abusive chanters is to make both White Hart Lane and the Emirates Stadium corporate and family zones only.
And you can wash a lot of elephants before that will ever come to pass.
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