Soccer:Emmanuel Adebayor will miss the Manchester derby after not appealing the violent conduct charge lodged against him by the Football Association.
Adebayor had until 6pm this eveing to respond to the charge and in accepting it, has effectively condemned himself to a three-match ban.
The FA's disciplinary panel will formally sit in judgment tomorrow. But the punishment for such offences is automatic and it seems unlikely there will be any change in that stance.
City knew there was little point in contesting the case once referee Mark Clattenburg confirmed he would have sent Adebayor off if he had seen the Manchester City forward's challenge on Robin van Persie.
The Dutchman sustained a cut to the head and launched a fierce attack on his former team-mate, who he claimed had acted in a "malicious" manner.
Arsene Wenger weighed into the debate as well, and with wider opinion lined up against him, it was futile for Adebayor to take the matter further.
City have another few days before they decide whether to contest the improper conduct charge brought against Adebayor for his ill-advised goal celebration in front of the Gunners' supporters at Eastlands.
Although Manchester United's Gary Neville was fined for a similar offence in a match against Liverpool at Old Trafford in 2003, the FA do have the power to suspend players for such behaviour.
And, as both Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore and FA counterpart Ian Watmore have both spoken out against the reaction, which left the Greater Manchester Police fuming, leniency cannot be guaranteed.
Providing the FA confirm a three-match ban, Adebayor will miss the encounter with United on Sunday, the Carling Cup tie with Fulham next Wednesday and a Premier League meeting with West Ham on September 28th.
Any additional suspension would start with the trip to Aston Villa, which would rule Adebayor out of domestic action until October 18th, when City travel to local rivals Wigan.
It leaves City boss Mark Hughes facing a striker crisis this weekend, with only Craig Bellamy of his front-line forwards likely to be available.
Robinho, Roque Santa Cruz and Benjani have already been consigned to the injured list and Carlos Tevez is rated extremely doubtful to face his old club.
In addition, City had a scare over Micah Richards earlier this week when the young defender was forced to miss two days' training after going down with a bout of tonsillitis.
Thankfully, Richards' symptoms have now eased, which should allow him to face Sir Alex Ferguson's men, along with Stephen Ireland, who is optimistic about his recovery from an ankle injury that forced him to be replaced at half-time in Saturday's win against Arsenal.
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp had earlier criticised the role of Arsenal fans in Adebayor's controversial goal celebration.
Adebayor sprinted the length of the field after scoring against his former club, leading to a Football Association charge over the scenes.
"I've got no time for people kicking anybody or being violent on the football pitch and he was wrong to run the length of the field," Redknapp said.
"But it's very difficult when you're getting abuse throughout the game like he was.
"It's not celebrating a goal that cause riots, it's idiots who want to start riots. If I had been standing there and we had been giving him grief all game and he did that, I would probably say 'fair play'."
