Togo 'disqualified' after failing to show up for opening match

Published on Monday 11 January 2010 22:05

THE Confederation of African Football have all but disqualified Togo from the African Nations Cup by confirming the team will not be allowed to re-enter the competition after they did not take part in last night's scheduled game against Ghana.

Confusion has reigned since Togo pulled out of the tournament in Angola and returned home after a gun attack on their team bus left three people dead last Friday.

The country's sports minister Christophe Tchao was quoted yesterday morning saying a formal request had been made to return after a three-day period of mourning but prime minister Gilbert Houngbo has since denied they want to re-enter the tournament.

The event's organisers have been largely silent on the matter but a CAF official told reporters yesterday afternoon that if Togo were not on the pitch come kick-off last night, they would be out of the competition.

"Togo have not taken official steps to come back and play the African Nations Cup," he said. "We have just heard this rumour in the press. The referee has received the order to blow the starting whistle and, if the Togolese players are not there, they will have lost the match and will be disqualified."

Despite conflicting reports, it had seemed unlikely that the team would return to the country where Friday's tragedy occurred – something which was confirmed by the Togolese prime minister yesterday.

Houngbo told Victoria Derbyshire on BBC Radio 5 Live: "I do believe there is confusion. The information you have got, I'm afraid, might not be the most accurate.

"We have simply withdrawn our team, it is not a matter of withdrawing for the mourning period.

"The information that has been circulated on some websites saying the players are just back for three days' mourning and will then go back playing is quite wrong. We withdrew our team on the basis they have been the victim of a terrorist attack." Houngbo has also hit out at the way Togo have been treated by CAF, insisting the decision to withdraw was not made in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, but after support from the tournament organisers proved non-forthcoming.

He added: "Management did not give us enough assurance. We would leave our team being exposed to similar risks. Therefore we decided to pull our team out of the competition against our will.

"We would have hoped that one could have serene discussion with the host country, with the confederation, to assess what has happened, assess what one has to do.

"We received no co-operation from the confederation in terms of any kind of assessment.

"Our analysis is that they want it (the shooting] to be seen as a non-event and the show must go on as planned; there mustn't be an official change and Togo is causing problems to the festival."