Togo have been banned from the next two African Nations Cups following their withdrawal from this year’s competition after two members of their delegation were killed in an ambush, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said on Saturday.
“The players publicly expressed their willingness to return to the Nations Cup to compete. But the Togo government decided to call back their national team,” the CAF said in a statement. “The decision by political authorities contravenes CAF and African Nations Cup regulations. The executive committee therefore has banned Togo from the next two African Nations Cups and fined the Togo FA 50,000 U.S. dollars.”
A Togolese assistant coach and a press officer died following an ambush on their bus in the northern Angolan province of Cabinda on Jan. 8, prompting the government to recall the team for three days of mourning.
PHOTO: AFP
CAF chief press officer Suleiman Habuba said the decision was based on article 78 of CAF regulations, which says: “A forfeit notified less than 20 days before the start or during the final competition shall entail, in addition of the forfeit of the entry fee, a maximum fine stipulated by the regulations as well as the suspension of the concerned national association for the following two editions of the African Cup of Nations.”
Angolan police in Cabinda have arrested two alleged members of the FLEC (Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda), a separatist movement that claimed responsibility for the attack.
In Lome, Togolese sports minister Christophe Tchao told reporters Togo would appeal against the ban.
“We shall launch an appeal ... We will use all legal means to enforce our rights regarding their decision,” Tchao said.
Togo midfielder Thomas Dossevi, who was on the bus when it came under fire minutes after it crossed the Angolan border from Pointe Noire, Congo, said the ban was unjustified.
“We are a group of footballers who came under fire and now we can’t play football any more. They are crushing us,” he told reporters by telephone. “Togo should appeal the suspension. When we said we were going home for a three-day mourning they said they were with us in this ordeal and now they punish us.”
The families of the assistant coach and the press officer were taking legal action against the CAF and Angola, their lawyer said.
“We are taking legal action because our compatriots were killed because of the mistakes of the Confederation of African Football [and] its president Mr Issa Hayatou,” lawyer Alexis Aquereburu told reporters. “[The legal claim is] also against the Angolan state for putting in danger the life of our compatriots by organizing this African Nations Cup in a war zone.”
The FLEC has fought a 30-year war against Angola’s government for independence. One grievance is that Cabindans see little of the money from oil that comes from their land.
Emmanuel Adebayor called for Hayatou to quit after the “monstrous” decision to suspend Togo.
The Manchester City striker was on the Togo team bus when it was attacked.
“Mr Hayatou has done much for Africa but now he must clear off. This decision is monstrous,” Adebayor was quoted as saying on the Web site of sports daily L’Equipe on yesterday, adding that he felt “totally betrayed.”
“They’re laughing in everybody’s face,” Adebayor said. “[Togo President Faure Gnassingbe] sent us to the [African Cup] to defend the colors of our nation. He judged that the threat to our team had not been removed and called us back to the country. We are only ambassadors. We had to go back.”
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