I would like someone to take a look at the two photos below and explain to me exactly what the difference is between them.
Take a minute to think about it. I’ll still be here.
The man on the left, of course, is Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who got himself into some trouble on Saturday after scoring on his previous employers at Arsenal, then running all the way across the pitch to taunt the traveling Gooner fans. This sparked a near-riot that got a Man City steward injured and resulted in no small amount of condemnation in the press and among call-in show voices.
But here’s what I want to know — didn’t Wayne Rooney, the man on the right, do something awfully similar to this in Goodison Park not too long ago?
I seem to recall that Rooney, who moved to Manchester United from Everton in 2004, scored a goal against Everton a couple years ago, then turned to the stands, kissed the Manchester United badge on his jersey and shouted at Everton supporters like he had just stabbed them all through the heart simultaneously. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t recall Everton supporters reacting like this:
(Animated GIF spotted on Gunner Blog.)
Now I’m sure there are people who will argue that those Gooners were also reacting to Adebayor kicking out at Robin Van Persie’s face earlier in the match.
I don’t intend to defend that action here, because really, it’s not defensible. You can see in that animated GIF — also from Gunner Blog, by the way — that Adebayor acted deliberately and earned the multi-match ban he’ll surely get for violent conduct. You don’t kick at someone’s head and get away with it these days. Just ask Albert Haynesworth.
Perhaps this is what separates Adebayor from Rooney. Clearly, Wayne Rooney would never kick out at a vulnerable opp– oh, wait…
So these are two immensely talented strikers who have volatile tempers and are prone to ugly acts on the pitch. So why does it seem like Emmanuel Adebayor is getting a lot more stick here than Wayne Rooney has ever gotten for his thuggish behavior? What exactly is it that separates the two of them?
The answer is not what you think I might say here, but it’s not that far off: Wayne Rooney wears an England kit.
To all football fans in England, even those who hate Man United with a passion, Rooney is still “one of our boys,” so he’ll escape the universal condemnation in the press that players from other countries might get, because everyone believes Rooney is a crucial cog in England’s World Cup wheel. Adebayor? He’s not English, so screw ‘im.
That’s a slightly different xenophobia than some might think is at play here. Ultimately, though, it does beg the question — if we were talking about, say, Emmanuel Shevchenko from Donetsk pulling a stunt like this, would those Arsenal fans have reacted with the same vitriol?
The fact that I’m not 100% sure of the answer does not speak so well of you, England.
7 responses so far ↓
1 Jeff // Sep 15, 2009 at 11:39 am
Yeah. We are talking about a country that gave us the BNP, which basically wants all immigrants to go away. I mean, that’s a view that makes our Minutemen downright normal by comparison.
But I still do wonder about the race thing. Last month Jermaine Defoe got wrongfully pulled over and the cop tried to get out of a harassment charge by essentially claiming that he was racially profiling… that also doesn’t speak too well of England.
Nationalism’s a big factor, but Ashley Cole’s pretty damn English and I don’t think he’d get the leeway Rooney gets, so race probably still works here. Though I think the reaction to, say, Shevchenko acting nuts would be closer to that to Adebayor rather than that to Rooney. Europeans slice and dice races thinner than we do, I think.
2 Dave // Sep 15, 2009 at 11:47 am
I knew it wouldn’t take long for someone to mention Ashley Cole. As much as he’s hated by Arsenal fans, though, I don’t recall him ever sparking quite this much vitriol in the stands. I could be wrong about this, of course, but did these same Gooners ever look like they wanted to bum rush the pitch and beat Cole within an inch of his life?
3 Mark // Sep 15, 2009 at 3:47 pm
As a Utd fan I ought to declare an interest here but I think another factors needs to be considered.
We Brits like a trier, we will overlook many things if we see our players giving 100% for the team.
Rooney never gives less than that Adebayor on the otherhand stopped trying at Arsenal in a most disgraceful manner.
His performance in the CL Semi Final last season was pathetic and I’m sure Arsenal fans will never forgive that.
4 Jeff // Sep 15, 2009 at 4:12 pm
I dunno, Mark, the times I saw Rooney before about a year ago he didn’t seem like he was all that he was cracked up to be. I always got the sense that he was more than willing to take some time off in the middle of the game if the midfield service wasn’t up to snuff.
5 Jaybo // Sep 15, 2009 at 6:15 pm
I think xenophobia could play a role, but as I recall last season Arsenal had a rough start and Adebayor had begun to have a meltdown about it. The fact that Adebayor, their former captain, left them in a position of perceived weakness in the preseason andthe fact that Rooney rode the bench at Everton may be a factor as well.
6 Dave // Sep 15, 2009 at 7:56 pm
These comments make me wonder if Big Daddy Drew ever wanted to do bodily harm to Randy Moss.
http://www.davesfootballblog.com/post/2008/02/22/brothers-in-arms-and-feet/
7 Mark // Sep 16, 2009 at 2:39 am
@Jeff
Rooney has often been deployed out of position to do a job for the team for both Utd and England and he has done a good job. You can sometimes see that he is frustrated but he will still press opponents and track back because he wants to be involved.
This season is a massive one for him with Ronaldo having left Utd and England qualifying for the World Cup.
I’m confident he will shine.
On the other hand Adebayor didn’t appear to try in probably the biggest match of his life.