Football: Tottenham complain to FA about Stoke midfielder Adam

LONDON - Tottenham Hotspur have written to the FA and asked them to take action against Stoke City's Charlie Adam, whose heavy challenge on Paulinho is likely to sideline the Brazil midfielder for at least a month, the club said on Tuesday.

The incident in Sunday's Premier League match was the fifth time that Scotland midfielder Adam had injured a Spurs player after two incidents involving Gareth Bale, and others involving Scott Parker and Jan Vertonghen.

He has also been sent off twice against Spurs, playing for both Liverpool and Stoke. "We are not happy and we have contacted the FA," a Tottenham spokesman told Reuters.

Adam was booed by Spurs fans when he came on as a 50th-minute substitute for Stephen Ireland.

Twelve minutes later the Brazil international midfielder, who was playing a vital part in Spurs 3-0 victory, hobbled off after a crunching tackle from Adam near the halfway line. The incident went unpunished by the referee.

Spurs confirmed on their website (www.tottenhamhotpsur.com) that Paulinho had an MRI scan on Monday and is likely to be out for at least four weeks with "significant ligament damage" to his right ankle.

Bale, who left Spurs for Real Madrid in the last transfer window, was hurt twice by Adam, the first time seriously when he suffered snapped ankle ligaments when Adam was playing for Blackpool.

The second incident occurred when Adam was playing for Liverpool in a pre-season friendly in the United States in 2012.

Bale called Adam a "coward" after that injury and said at the time: "What he did was over the top. Some people are like that and it's just wrong."

Adam tweeted on Tuesday: "Just for the record and to the people tweeting me abuse saying so, I don't and never have had anything against @SpursOfficial. And I would never intend to injure a fellow professional."

No-one from the FA was immediately available to comment on Tuesday.