Emmanuel Adebayor has revealed that racist slurs he endured during Manchester City clash against Arsenal in 2009 inspired his infamous celebration when he scored.
In 2009, the Togo international left the Gunners for City and after scoring against them at the Etihad, he sprinted the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the travelling fans, as the Citizens ran out 4-2 winners.
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However, with the fight for racism on the rise, the 35-year-old who now plays for Turkish outfit Istanbul Basaksehir has revealed that he was subjected to racist abuse from the Gunners faithful.
“This is the thing and it's why I haven't 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,” Adebayor told Daily Mail.
“I remember getting to the stadium and Arsenal fans were there. All I heard was the chant, 'Your mother is a whore 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 doesn't work that way. Today is too late. We're 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.
“If a sniper shot me, he would not have struck me down.
“I was in my spiritual zone. Kolo Toure said to me: 'I was looking at the pictures and you didn't flinch once.' I didn't feel human anymore. The abuse was too much. I was ready to die. I just looked at them and thought, 'There are things you don't do.''
Adebayor made over 250 appearances in English football, netting 122 goals in spells for Arsenal and Manchester City.
This season, he is part of the Istanbul Basaksehir side aiming for the Turkish Super Lig title. They are at the summit of the log, with 62 points from 29 games.