Arséne Wenger has apologised for his players’ conduct during the Carling Cup final in Cardiff, but it was not enough to prevent Arsenal being handed a heavy sentence that is likely to have damaging consequences for the rest of their season.

In a stern statement that violent conduct will not be tolerated, the Football Association accused Arsenal and Chelsea of misconduct for failing to control their players, as well as bringing fresh charges against two of Wenger’s young side. In a damning verdict on the 20-man flare-up that marred Chelsea’s 2-1 victory at the Millennium Stadium, the governing body yesterday:

— Charged Emmanuel Eboué with violent conduct after he appeared to strike Wayne Bridge, giving the Ivory Coast defender until 6pm today to respond.

— Charged Emmanuel Adebayor with reacting aggressively and failing to leave the field of play after his sending-off. The Togo striker had to be restrained from confronting Howard Webb, the referee.

— Upheld the dismissal of Adebayor and imposed a three-match ban, which could be increased if he is found guilty of the additional charge.

— Upheld the red card shown to John Obi Mikel, the Chelsea midfield player, who will serve a four-match suspension having also been sent off in the Barclays Premiership match away to Reading in October.

Having been seen by many as the aggressors in a brawl prompted by Kolo Touré’s reaction to having his shirt pulled by Mikel, Arsenal will be hit hardest by the suspensions. Touré, Eboué and Adebayor will miss the FA Cup fifth-round replay away to Black-burn Rovers this evening, as well as Premiership matches against Reading and Aston Villa, although they will be available for the Champions League tie against PSV Eind-hoven on March 7.

Arsenal have had 68 players sent off in ten years under Wenger’s stewardship, but the manager pointed out that the club’s disciplinary record has improved in recent years.

“I feel we should not have reacted at all [against Chelsea],” Wenger said. “Overall we are sorry for what happened. When you do not behave like you want to, then you have to apologise.

“We want to focus on playing football well. We want to deal well with the frustrations and want to be exemplary. But we also want to remind people that we have been top of the Fair Play table twice in the last few years. Also this year we are the team who have committed the least fouls in the league and been the most fouled against.

“What happened was a one-off for us in the last three years and we are sorry for that. It was a good game and that was an incident of one minute. But we do not want to behave like we behaved and that is it.”

Mikel’s four-match ban is unlikely to hinder too seriously Chelsea’s quest for four trophies as the teenager is only a squad player and José Mourin-ho, the manager, has plenty of options in midfield. The club’s fourth charge of failing to control their players in the space of 12 months will be a concern in the boardroom, however. Both clubs are likely to be fined between £10,000 and £20,000.

Wenger’s contrition was not shared by all his players, Adebayor insisting that he had done nothing wrong. “When the referee showed me a red card I could not believe it,” he said. “I remember straight away Gary Lewin [the Arsenal physiotherapist] came to me to say, ‘Come on, Manu, let’s go,’ but I said, ‘Just leave me ask one question — why did he give me a red card?’ A lot of people thought I was going to hit him, but I was not.”