Emmanuel Adebayor received his marching orders for new club Olimpia after he briefly swapped football for martial arts.
The former Tottenham frontman went in with a flying ‘karate kick’
while playing for the Paraguyan outfit against Defensa y Justicia in the
Copa Libertadores, his foot far too high as he went to challenge for
the ball.
Adebayor, who played in the Premier League for
over a decade, joined the 11th club of his career when he signed for
Olimpia in February, and has since failed to find the back of the net.
In
the 72nd minute of the game, the 36-year-old is seen going in to vie
for an aerial challenge, but appears to have his eyes completely fixated
on the ball and oblivious to the Justicia player that is standing in
front of him.
He lunges in recklessly and brings his right
leg up high with both feet off the ground. He makes contact with the
player’s shoulder and was lucky not to kick him in the face, with the
opposition star stumbling over and wincing in agony.
Adebayor
realises his mistake immediately and begins to hold his hands up, but
he was afforded no sympathy as the referee gave him an early bath.
Some
fans have been poking fun at the former Togo international, with one
Twitter user comparing the ‘karate kick’ to fighting video game Mortal
Kombat.
“I’ve never seen anything more Emmauel Adebayor than this,” one social media user wrote.
Another joked how the ex-Man City and Real Madrid star has ‘adapted surprisingly well’ to football in South America.
Luckily
for Adebayor, his team managed to hold on with ten men to secure a 2-1
win in the competition, allowing the player a chance to praise the
team’s efforts and mock himself for the infamous kick.
He admitted it was a ‘Jackie Chan’ challenge but stressed he never intended any harm on the player in question.
‘Tough
game today!’ He wrote on Twitter. ‘What a great team spirit, and what a
win boys. Sad to leave the pitch early on a Jackie Chan challenge. It
was never my intention to hurt my opponent, And I am glad he is okay.’
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