[cauddyVab]

Togo have now withdrawn from the African Nations.

that was the first instinct,get out of there....what was disappointing was that the players wanted to play but the african federation wouldn't let them back in

[LoohornePharp]

That's just the sort of sensationalist nonsense I'd expect to read in the back of the Daily Mail.

No it's not

If it was in the Mail it would have said something about plumeting property prices and how immigrants are to blame for all our woes

[flueftArete]

Just read that Togo have been banned from the next two African Cup Of Nations Tournaments.

[GfBTWMmV]

Just read that Togo have been banned from the next two African Cup Of Nations Tournaments.

Where's this source? Disgusting if it's true!

[flueftArete]

Togo, who pulled out of the Africa Cup of Nations after a terrorist attack on their team bus, have been banned for the next two editions of the tournament, the African Football Confederation (CAF) said Saturday.

CAF president Issa Hayatou said the decision was based on "governmental interference", which led to the team's decision to pull out of this year's edition.

Togo decided to pull out of the tournament after two members of their delegation were shot and killed during an attack on the team bus as it passed through the restive Angolan enclave of Cabinda.

The armed wing of the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC), embroiled in a decades-long separatist struggle, claimed responsibility for the attack. Independent Online.

It's a very harsh punishment.

[GfBTWMmV]

Governmental interference??? Thats a mild way of saying militia tried to assasinate them! Disgusting! Premiership teams should now refuse to release players for this tournament.

[GfBTWMmV]

Togo given Africa Nations Cup ban


The attack on the Togo team bus has overshadowed the tournament

Togo has been banned from the next two Africa Cup of Nations following their withdrawal from this year's tournament.
Caf also fined the Hawks US$50,000 for the decision to quit the competition in the wake of a gun attack on the team.
Two members of their delegation were killed in the ambush which resulted in Togo to withdraw its team.
"The executive committee has banned Togo from the next two African Nations Cup and fined the Togo FA 50,000 U.S. dollars." Caf said in a statement.



















BBC Sport - Football - Togo given Africa Nations Cup ban

[Appenianags]

The only thing i can deduce from that, is that football is more important than life and death in Africa.

[GfBTWMmV]

Nevermind, the CAF will probably run the World Cup hunky dory.

[GfBTWMmV]

Togo footballers shot in ambush
Gunmen have fired on a bus carrying Togo's football team to the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, wounding players and reportedly killing the driver.
The attackers machine-gunned the vehicle after it crossed from the Republic of Congo into Angola's oil-rich territory of Cabinda.
Rebels who have been fighting for the region's independence later said they had carried out the attack.
The organisers of the tournament, which starts on Sunday, say it will go ahead.
The Angolan government called the incident an "act of terrorism".
The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (Flec), which said it carried out the attack, has fought for independence for several decades, but entered a ceasefire in 2006.
In a statement quoted by Portugal's Lusa news agency, the group said: "This operation is only the start of a series of targeted actions that will continue in all the territory of Cabinda."
Togo is due to play its first cup game in Cabinda on Monday. The Confederation of African Football confirmed that the tournament would go ahead as planned, despite the violent attack.
Angolan Sports Minister Goncalves Muandumba said security for the competition would be stepped up to guarantee "all the conditions necessary for the success, tranquillity and security of the people and their belongings".
'Under shock'
Nine people, including at least two players, were wounded during the shooting, reports said. Central defender Serge Akakpo was among those hurt and back-up goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale was also reportedly injured.
Romanian side FC Vaslui confirmed that Mr Akakpo, who joined the club from French side Auxerre last year, was shot and badly injured in the attack. The 22-year-old was out of danger after being struck by two bullets and being treated by doctors, the club said.


The team's communications manager was among those seriously wounded in the shooting.
Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor was also on the bus but is unhurt. Speaking to the BBC, he described the incident as "one of the worst experiences of his life".
"I'm still under shock," Mr Adebayor said. "I was one of those who carried the injured players into the hospital - that is when I realised what was really going on. All the players, everyone was crying, calling their mums, crying on the phone, saying their last words because they thought they'd be dead."
The bus was travelling to Cabinda from the squad's training ground in the Republic of Congo when the shooting happened.
"This was an act of terrorism," Cabinda affairs minister Bento Bembe told Reuters news agency.
Football's highest governing body, Fifa, said it was troubled by the incident.
"Fifa and its president, Joseph S Blatter, are deeply moved by today's incidents which affected Togo's national team, to whom they express their utmost sympathy," the body said in a statement.
Competition officials said they had not known that the Togolose team had decided to drive directly to Cabinda.
They said they had expected the squad first to fly to the Angolan capital, Luanda, and from there to Cabinda.
Shot 'like dogs'
The head of the Togolese football federation told AFP news agency that the driver had died.
Togo striker Thomas Dossevi told France's RMC radio that several players were "in a bad state" after the attack.



"We were machine-gunned, like dogs," he said. "At the border with Angola - machine-gunned! I don't know why. I thought it was some rebels. We were under the seats of the bus for 20 minutes, trying to get away from the bullets."
The identities of those injured - who also included team staff - have not yet been confirmed.
Togo's first game in the tournament is due to be against Ghana on Monday.
But midfielder Alaixys Romao told RMC the team was likely to pull out of the 16-nation cup.
"No-one wants to play," he said. "We're not capable of it.
"We're thinking first of all about the health of our injured because there was a lot of blood on the ground."

Story from BBC NEWS:

Things like this make me still quite scared about what might happen at the World Cup in the summer.

[flueftArete]

It certainly doesn't bode well for the World Cup.

[GfBTWMmV]

Brown wants African players home
Hull boss Phil Brown has led calls for Premier League players at the Africa Cup of Nations to return home after the Togo bus came under gunfire in Angola.
The coach driver was killed in Friday's attack, while two Togo players were also shot and injured.
Hull's Gabon striker Daniel Cousin and Nigerian midfielder Seyi Olofinjana are among numerous Premier League players in Africa for the tournament.
And Brown told The Sun: "I have two players on duty and I want them home."
Defender Serge Akakpo and reserve goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale were hit in the sustained attack while several other players required hospital treatment and were later seen with bandages on legs, hands and faces.
Togo captain and Manchester City striker Emanuel Adebayor, who was on the coach but emerged unharmed, says the team is considering whether to withdraw from the tournament, although organisers insist the competition, which begins on Sunday when host nation Angola play Mali, will go on.
But Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp, who does not have any players at the tournament, said: "It's frightening. It's worth considering calling the whole thing off. We can't just sit around and wait for the next shooting."



Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill expressed his shock at the incident but was relieved his midfielder Moustapha Salifou was not among the injured.
"The club have been in contact with him and he has reassured us that he is okay but he is extremely shocked and upset, which he would be in these circumstances."
Portsmouth have four players at the tournament and club spokesman Gary Double said they had sought reassurance from the English Football Association and world governing body Fifa about their players' security.
"Our players' safety is paramount and if that can't be guaranteed the players should be sent home," he said.

Story from BBC SPORT:

[flueftArete]

Togo have now withdrawn from the African Nations.

[Appenianags]

It certainly doesn't bode well for the World Cup.

That's just the sort of sensationalist nonsense I'd expect to read in the back of the Daily Mail.

[GfBTWMmV]

That's just the sort of sensationalist nonsense I'd expect to read in the back of the Daily Mail.

Well South Africa hasn't exactly got a good record by far when it comes to gun crime. God only knows what will happen when you've got a load of high spirited yet naive about the country, football supporters getting drunk and running around celebrating over there.