Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Togo Football Stars Withdraw From Matches in Libya, Citing Security Concerns

Libya concerns prompt Togo withdrawals

Alaixys Romao and Jonathan Ayite have withdrawn from Togo's squad for Friday's World Cup qualifier in Libya, citing security concerns.

Over the weekend, clashes between protesters and a militia in the city of Benghazi left at least 30 dead.

Romao, 29, was part of the Togolese delegation that lost two members after an attack by Angolan separatists ahead of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.

"I am about to take off from Lome to return to France," he wrote on Twitter.

“I will change my mind only if the Fifa officials who made the decision come with us.”

"For we are clearly not being taken seriously."

Amavi Patatou, the spokesman for Togo's Football Federation (FTF), says that many of the players in the squad who hold French citizenship are very concerned about travelling to Tripoli.

"The players want the match to be played outside Libya because they are afraid, and it is understandable after what happened in Angola," Patatou told BBC Sport.

"We must also take notice of the fact that French authorities have warned their citizens not to travel to Libya for security reasons."

Defender Djen Dakonam has spoken of his desire to see the fixture moved to a neutral venue.

"I was not part of the team that was attacked in Cabinda, but the senior players still bear the psychological scars of that tragic event," he told BBC Sport.

"We are all appealing to Fifa to consider this and choose another venue outside Libya."

In January 2010, Togolese football suffered one of its worst days when gunmen - who later claimed to be a faction of the Front for the Liberation of the State of Cabinda - attacked the team bus as it entered Angola for that month's Nations Cup.

A seasoned international with a half century of caps, Romao was part of that squad and also played at this year's Nations Cup in South Africa, where Togo reached the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.

"After having been through a traumatising experience in 2010 in Angola, I don't want my family to live with that stress again," Romao, who plays for Marseille, had already stated in an earlier post on the micro-blogging site.

Libya staged its first home match in over two years on Friday 7 June, drawing 0-0 with DR Congo in a game played under high security in the capital Tripoli.

Football had been absent from the North African nation since the civil war that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi broke out in 2011.

Friday's forthcoming Group I qualifier on 14 June had been originally set for Benghazi, but Fifa announced on Monday that it had been relocated to Tripoli following the "latest security incidents" in the eastern city.

The decision, the world governing body added, had been taken in consultation with the Libyan Football Federation.

"Tripoli or Benghazi - what's the difference?" Romao rhetorically asked on Twitter. "I will change my mind only if the Fifa officials who made the decision come with us."

Meanwhile, deputy coach Tchanile Bana says the coaching staff must prepare as best as they can for a match that is critical to their hopes of staying in contention for Brazil 2014.

"At our level, the only thing we can do is make another request for the match to be rescheduled somewhere else," he told national television.

"But if it is not the case, we shall see how best we can handle the players who will accept to take the risk to go there."

Togo, who qualified for its sole World Cup in 2006, currently sit bottom of Group I, trailing leaders Libya by just two points with two rounds of matches left.

Additional reporting by Blame Ekoue in Lome.

No comments: