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not only would I play but I would... well I would play.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...global&cc=5739The Togo national team bus has been machine-gunned by Angolan rebels on the Congolese border ahead of the African Cup of Nations, it has been reported.
Three Togo players and the bus driver are reported to have been injured. "I am fine but several players are in a bad way," Nantes striker Thomas Dossevi told Radio Monte Carlo.
"We are still at hospital. We were attacked like dogs and had to hide for 20 minutes under the seats to avoid the bullets."
Togo were due to get their Cup of Nations campaign underway against Ghana on January 11. Dossevi also said that the team no longer wanted to play at the tournament.
not only would I play but I would... well I would play.
I just heard of this on the news. That's horrible. I wonder what happens next.
Do you think the Cup could be postponed or scrapped because of this?
I mean Togo already does not want to play anymore.
"According to RMC, the attack happened around 3.15 pm just after players entered Cabinda, one of the four host venues of the African Cup of Nations. Rebels have been fighting for independence in the oil-rich area of the country."
Also, I believe, very bad of the organisation, FIFA and CAF to hold such a big event when you know that one of the venues is in a place where there are rebels fighting for independence and thus not so secure.
I mean, these rebels did not show up just yesterday. At such events security should be guaranteed and even the slightest irregularities should be enough to not decide to hold such an event in Angola.
WTF
1st Egyptians throw huge stones at Algerian players in Cairo, now that?
might as well scrapped the world cup in south africa...
The driver is dead.
9 men were injured (players, staff, journalists), some of them badly but they're ok now.
Terrible to be under fire for 20 minutes.
Midfielder Richmond Forson claimed the number of injuries would have been much worse had the gunmen not originally fired on the wrong bus.
He said: "It was the bus carrying our baggage, which was in front of us, which they fired on the most. They thought we were in the bus in front, fortunately for us. That's what saved us.
"Then they fired on our driver and those who were in front. The windscreen was shattered by the first bullets.
sad
Speechless.
Well, their goalkeeper passed away
As well as the assistant coach
They are going to retreat from the tournament.
I havent read one of the players passed away though. If that's the case, well I think the tournament should be dropped or at least postponed.
Confusion reigned following the deadly gun attack on the Togo national team's bus, with conflicting reports over the fate of goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale.
There had been widespread reports that Obilale had died after being shot in the chest and stomach in the brutal ambush on the Togo squad as they travelled to the African Cup of Nations, bringing the death toll from the attack to four.
Two members of Togo's national team delegation and a driver also died following an ambush on the team's bus as it travelled to the African Cup of Nations.
Striker Jonathan Ayite told RMC radio: "Yes, he (Obilale) is dead, as well as our assistant coach (Amalete Abalo) and our press officer (Stanislas Ocloo). All three are dead."
However, a statement from his club, French team GSI Pontivy, read: "According to news given by coach Alain Le Dour and GSI Pontivy president Philippe Le Mestre, Kodjovi Obilale is not dead, despite the news reported on the internet, radio and television, and has been moved to South Africa."
Friday's attack, in which seven others were injured, took place in Cabinda, a province where guerrillas have fought a secession campaign for decades.
"We lost the assistant coach and the press officer," said Messan Attelou, chief spokesman for Togo's federation.
Reflecting the uncertainty, Togo player Guillaume Brenner told RMC : "We've heard everything. That he is dead, that he was transported to south Africa. We don't know exactly. But we decided to go home anyway."
However, there is also confusion over Togo's participation in the tournament. Several players have said they had withdrawn, and captain Emmanuel Adebayor has flown out of Angola, yet officials insist no official decision has been made.
Attelou said a decision would be made after consultation with players, while an Angolan government source said they had agreed to remain in the compe ion.
However, Adebayor's club Manchester City said the striker had already returned home and Togo had withdrawn - a scenario that appears inevitable even if it has not been officially announced.
The attack came five months before neighbouring South Africa hosts the World Cup, the first African nation to hold the world's biggest single sport event.
Virgilio Santos, an official with the African Cup of Nations local organising committee COCAN, said teams had been told explicitly not to travel to the tournament by road.
"We asked that all delegations inform us when they would arrive and provide the passport number of their players," he told the sports weekly A Bola.
"Togo was the only team not to respond and did not inform COCAN it was coming by bus ... The rules are clear: No team should travel by bus. I don't know what led them to do this."
The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda claimed responsibility for the attack.
Cabinda, the scene of attacks by separatists even after Angola's 27-year civil war ended in 2002, is responsible for half of oil production in Angola, which rivals Nigeria as Africa's biggest producer.
The Togo team bus, travelling from its training ground in the Republic of Congo, had just entered the enclave, geographically cut off from the rest of Angola, when it came under heavy gunfire.
A crisis meeting was expected to take place in the Angolan capital Luanda between local officials and the Confederation of African Football over tournament security.
Former Togo coach Otto Pfister said the assault would cast a shadow over the World Cup.
"This is a real blow for Africa. It will obviously be linked directly with the World Cup now," he told the German sports news agency SID.
"And it will give the critics a boost."
South Africa has spent at least 13 billion rand (£1.2bn) on new stadiums and infrastructure for the World Cup.
Rich Mkhondo, chief spokesman for the World Cup organising committee, said the attack had no relevance to the World Cup.
"We remain confident that everyone coming to South Africa will have a safe and secure experience in our country," he said.
South African President Jacob Zuma will attend Sunday's opening ceremony despite the attack, his spokesman said.
CAF has said the Nations Cup, which ends on January 31, will go ahead and the Angolan government said all teams would still take part.
There has been no official suggestion that matches will be pulled from Cabinda, wedged between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo and due to host seven matches.
The first games in Cabinda are due to be played on Monday, with Togo taking on Ghana and Ivory Coast facing Burkina Faso.
Ivory Coast general manager Kaba Kone said: "We have not considered leaving the tournament. Organisers and CAF must improve safety. The party is not ruined, we can still have a great party if safety is guaranteed. We did not come here to play with death but to play football."
The FLEC was not thought to be a serious risk in Cabinda, despite claiming to have kidnapped a Chinese oil worker and killed government soldiers last year.
In December, Angolan minister without portfolio Antonio Bento Bembe, a former FLEC leader, dismissed the claims and said the group no longer existed.
Virgilio Santos, an official with the African Cup of Nations local organising committee COCAN, said teams had been told explicitly not to travel to the tournament by road.
"We asked that all delegations inform us when they would arrive and provide the passport number of their players," he told the sports weekly A Bola.
"Togo was the only team not to respond and did not inform COCAN it was coming by bus ... The rules are clear: No team should travel by bus. I don't know what led them to do this."
This statement is unbelievable. I mean, if it was not safe to let teams travel there in any way how its normal to travel, than why the is such a tournament even held in a place which is not guaranteed to be 100% safe? If they were already before the tournament warning that nations should not come by bus and that its probably not 100% safe, why did they organize such a big event there in the first place?
This is crazy.
Algeria
youAlgeria
Our backup goalie played, and he suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucked
We lose to Malawi but beat Kanoute and Diarra's Mali
WTF
fluke win?We lose to Malawi but beat Kanoute and Diarra's Mali
WTF
Malawi's ?
Yes
lefty, you know what I am thinking about this...
Of course I do
You love Africa
You are telepathic.
Holy , we should be beating Angola 3-0 by now
ing ref, it's not even worth trying; on every possession, it's either an imaginary off side or no fouls called
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