olo Toure has hit out at Kevin Davies for his tackle on Arsenal defender Gael Clichy at the weekend.

Empics

Clichy lies on the floor after the tackle.

Arsenal's medical team initially feared the Frenchman's leg had been fractured, but X-rays later confirmed he suffered heavy bruising to his left shin.

Davies was booked for the challenge, and defended by Bolton manager Gary Megson. But Toure claimed Davies was trying to intimidate Arsenal.

''The tackle was a disgrace - very bad,'' said Toure. ''There is no place for that in football.

''I have nothing against Kevin Davies, he seems a good guy. But he uses his elbows far too much.

''It is wrong to allow those sorts of challenges in football. If we are going to allow that, you might just as well get in kids off the street because they can make those challenges just the same as anybody else can.''

''Football is supposed to be a game of skill. I am sure we could go out and kick players just as hard as we are kicked but we'd rather concentrate on playing football,'' continued Toure.

''It happened just before half-time and in the break we knew we had to make sure we did not allow ourselves to become intimidated.

''In the past we have allowed ourselves to be intimidated but this time we knew that it would be tough at Bolton and we were ready for that.

''We know that we have to win our matches away from home this season if we are going to be champions because we dropped far too many points away from home last season.

''In previous years we have been too easy to beat away but we have shown this week that we are able to win these games and with the draw in Ukraine in between them, overall it is a good week.''

Bolton midfielder Kevin Nolan added: ''The ref said to me Kevin followed through and he got booked for that but, obviously, people see it in different ways.

''I have seen Arsenal players make tackles like that - it is not just about us.''