Chelsea, Arsenal may be charged

LONDON - ARSENAL and Chelsea are awaiting Football Association charges, after Sunday's League Cup final was marred by a brawl.

The Gunners' stand-in skipper Kolo Toure, teammate Emmanuel Adebayor and Chelsea's Mikel Jon Obi were dismissed in the dying stages of the Blues' 2-1 win.

Francesc Fabregas and Frank Lampard were also cautioned after the incident.

Managers Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho had to run on to the pitch to try to calm their players.

Up till then, the match had been an entertaining and intriguing contest between Arsenal's young Gunners and Chelsea's star-studded team.

Toure has apologised for his part in the melee, and hopes the FA will show leniency once it has reviewed video evidence.

He told 4thegame.com: 'I apologise for this moment, and I regret my actions.

'Chelsea were winning and were starting to waste time. 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.'

His regret was in direct contrast to Mikel's attitude.

The Mirror quoted the Chelsea forward as saying: 'I didn't deserve the card. I think Toure attacked me but the ref showed me the red card.

'The referee had already given them a free kick, so why did he attack me? I don't know - I don't have a clue about it.

'I didn't touch him, I kept my hands down. But he didn't punch me. We didn't fight.'

Wenger later acknowledged that his players, whose average age was 21, had lost their cool.

He said: 'It suddenly exploded. It was strange as it didn't reflect the quality of the game.

'Suddenly, we lost it and they lost it as well. It became a brawl. I'm not sure the referee picked the right ones out but he made a decision.

'I don't think you should ever lose your calm. You should always keep in control. Frankly, I felt a few punches were exchanged, not only from our side.

'I went on the field to ensure nothing major happened. I wanted to calm things down.

'I am not strong enough to do that. Maybe I overestimated my power a little bit. I am sure that the players will be punished. Will it be once or twice, who knows?

'With the FA, you always have a good chance to worry. It is better to worry with them.'

Keith Hackett, the referees' chief, praised the way his colleague, Howard Webb, dealt with the incident. He also called on the FA to take action.

'Howard and his assistants had a good game on that incident, which was out of character from the rest of the match,' he said.

'They dealt calmly and firmly with it. After consultation, Howard took appropriate action.

'His report will go to the FA today and they will look at those unseemly situations that arose. It was a pity because it was a fantastic game.'

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.

The game was further delayed when Adebayor refused to leave the pitch after being red-carded, and had to be dragged off by Arsenal physiotherapist Gary Lewin.

'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,' said the striker.

There were claims of a case of mistaken identity. Many believe the red card was meant for Eboue.

Even Bridge said: 'Adebayor wasn't the guy who did it.'

Mourinho added: 'My players said it was Eboue who was more responsible than the others.'

The Portuguese said the incidents were disappointing but understandable.

He told the BBC: 'It's a pity that happened. I do understand that it's emotional and I understand how the players are feeling.

'Arsenal were losing the final, so I think their emotions took over. Sometimes, mature people lose control of their emotions.

'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.'

Arsenal took an early lead through Theo Walcott's first goal for the club, before the Blues turned things around with Didier Drogba's brace.