FA too late in fight against racism so players must now act, says Emmanuel Adebayor

Too late | Emmanuel Adebayor says it is too late for The FA to tackle racism in football
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Former Arsenal and Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor has joined the call for players to walk off the pitch if they suffer racial abuse, and says it is too late for The FA to tackle the problem.

Adebayor, who joined City from north London in 2009, says he suffered racist abuse at the hands of Arsenal fans which prompted his infamous knee-slide celebration in front of the traveling fans at the Etihad nearly a decade ago.

The 35-year-old was fined £25,000 and handed a suspended two-match ban by The FA for that celebration in 2009, and says it is now too late for them to tackle the problem.

Raheem Sterling and Danny Rose are among those leading the fight against racism in English football, but while the former saying walking off the pitch would mean admitting defeat, Adebayor says leaving the pitch is the only effective way to react.

"This is the thing," he told the Daily Mail. "And it is why I have not said anything about racism the past few weeks. When I celebrated, the FA fined me, they punished me. Nothing happened to the Arsenal fans. So it [racism] started with me and long before me.

"I remember getting to the stadium and Arsenal fans were there. All I heard was the the chant 'Your mother is a w**** and your father washes elephants.' My father worked in currency exchange and my mother is a businesswoman. But this went on and on. So how can I reply? I didn't have a voice to go against thousands of supporters.

"And now the same FA are trying to stop racism? I'm sorry. It does not work that way. Today is too late. We are tired. Enough is enough. I see Mario Balotelli and Didier Drogba on Instagram. How many times do we have to post something? We have to react. We have to leave the pitch."

Adebayor was at Arsenal during a time when Arsene Wenger was struggling to hold onto star names, with finances at top European rivals dwarfing that at the Emirates.

But the striker, who also played for Tottenham and Real Madrid, says the Gunners did not show enough love to keep their big names.

"Kolo [Toure], [Cesc] Fabregas, [Gael] Clichy, [Robin] Van Persie. They all left," he said. "I don't think Arsenal have shown love to keep players. You are on huge money at Arsenal. But if you can double your salary, we are footballers and in 10 years, it is over.

"If you are Cesc, going to Barcelona, he will make more money, more sponsorship, and he is going home. What did Arsenal do to keep him at the club? Absolutely nothing. Now the fans say he is not loyal. When you leave Arsenal, you become a traitor, regardless of what you have done. Van Persie was the same."

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