African Cup of Nations - Togo file suit against CAF and rebels

Eurosport - Fri, 05 Feb 04:00:00 2010

Togo have started legal proceedings against an Angolan separatist movement and African football's governing body after the attack that left two members of their party dead, according to the Associated Press.

2010 Togo - 0

An assistant coach, press officer and driver died when gunmen from the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda attacked the Togo team bus on January 8 ahead of the African Cup of Nations.

A distraught Togo pulled out of the tournament in Angola and the CAF subsequently banned them from the next two editions due to what they claimed was political interference, leading to the joint legal action which was submitted to a court in Paris.

FLEC leader Rodrigues Mingas, who lives in France, has repeatedly claimed responsibility for the attack, insisting it took place in a war zone and that the Togolese were not intended targets.

"This was not a premeditated hit against the bus of our brothers of Togo," Mingas told a French television stattion. "(The attack was) where our troops operate against the occupying Angolan forces.

"In war, anything can happen, it's just starting."

In addition to the Togolese federation, the families of two people killed in the attack - assistant coach, Amelete Abalo and press official Dodji Komi Ocloo Azanledji - joined in the complaint.

Eurosport

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  1. These so called CAF are murderers of the highest­ order and basically evil agents who probably ambushed­ to murder innocent citizens just to sacrifice them to­ their idols.Why will you ever host a match in a war­ zone?People got killed in cold blood being cut off in­ their prime and instead of a message of condolence to­ the families of the deceased and their country,those­ insane greedy­ minded,money-loving-underground-drug-dealing-gangsters­ fronting to be legitimate governing body called CAF and­ their crippled bi-tches deemed it fit to ban a grieving­ people from 2 tournaments.
    But surely,the blood of­ those people will hunt CAF down their graves
    The world­ is coming to an end pretty soon and this so called­ monsters called CAF who think they are untouchables and­ probably think they run the planet will have no place­ to hide.
    African football teams,boycott CAF. BOYCOTT­ CAF...BOYCOTT CAF..CAF IS EVIL !!!!!!!!!!

    From Crude Oil is big business !, on Wed 10 Feb 19:14

  2. what kind of mentality did FA have when deciding­ against a nation that they did not even provide­ adequate security. DISGRACEFUL!!!! FA - be ashamed of­ yourselves

    From john t, on Tue 9 Feb 15:08

  3. this is a disgrace. the chairmen of the caf should be­ forced to resign.

    From the content was not saved since it infringes the Y, on Tue 9 Feb 7:33

  4. FIFA should step in and set some standard of­ decency.
    The 1st act of wrong was not allowing Togo to­ return and take their place in the competition after­ the national mourning had accured.
    The 2nd act of­ wrong was to seek to punish Togo, for an action that­ any decent nation would have done, to call their people­ home. taking time to take stock of the situation, to­ mourn, then try and return to fulfill thier­ commitments.
    The 3rd act of wrong is the level of­ punishment to the innocent, totally out of order.
    The­ 4th act of wrong is no apparent punishment to the­ organisers of the tournament for not ensuring the­ safety of the participants at all times.
    WHO CHOSE THE­ VENUES ?, who chose the host Nation
    CAF. Your actions­ are idiotic, see sense, put the wrong right, stand up­ against terrorism not give it the glory of punishing a­ group which has been subject to their cowardly ways.­ and above an international apology, reinstate, return­ the fine, and compensate them for your total­ insensitivity.
    If no action takes place, then the­ African soccer players should refuse to play with out­ their brothers from Togo, No players mean no­ tournament.

    From Geoff W, on Tue 9 Feb 4:18

  5. My dear good people,
    That somebody died in the field of­ play is very different from people suddenly cutdown on­ their route to competition.
    Remember the dignity of­ human life is the utmost. It appears to CAF that what­ is paramount is the competition and not human life­ but should be made to realise that without human, the­ competition cann't be viable.
    May be the lifes that­ were suddenly cutdown, were not their relations and so­ they should not appreciate how painful and­ heartbreaking it is.
    Iam calling for the dissolution of­ CAF and implemtation of new CAF. The long stay in power­ perpetuates: power intoxication, corruption,favourtism,­ beribery, nepotism etc. CAF should apologise to entire­ AFRICAN nation and Togo in particular.
    ken

    From okwara, on Tue 9 Feb 2:39

  6. It is a disgusting act from the CAF, they should hang­ there heads in shame.

    From cake, on Tue 9 Feb 2:39

  7. UP HAYATOU,good decesion,everlasting caf president,how­ i wish it was cameroun,u will have see how this racist­ called hayatou would have reacted.banning togo 4­ 2competition,to them thats is the ideal way to develop­ football in small country like togo.after losing 3­ souls with no fault of theirs and other players with­ injuries and no condonlence message from caf.why cant­ they go ahead afterall it wasnt cameroun that was­ invloved.who cares,had it been that the like of­ adebayor was kill,they can still go ahead,who­ cares,afterall it was not Etoo. Leadership in­ africa,may God save us...i salute you mr­ hayatou,afterall there is no replacement for you in­ africa,ride on caf everlasting president

    falayajo o

    From Olukayode, on Tue 9 Feb 2:34

  8. i support togo intoto. CAF must be purged of the Old­ Guards who have nothing to offer african football.

    From boakye-danquah, on Tue 9 Feb 2:22

  9. I was shocked to hear the ban imposed on Togo. Even­ after losing lives of two people CAF still went ahead­ to impose this rule.I will not say it was wrong but­ on what grounds are they issuing that sentence. CAF­ have a heart. They left the tournament because they­ were hit and only them feel the pain. Be careful CAF­ or else in the next tournament all teams will boycott­ it and then what next...

    From maizaxx, on Tue 9 Feb 2:19

  10. ALL,
    I think it time to change the adminstration of­ CAF,ISSA HAYATAU,SHOULD leave and bring in someone who­ knows wat he is doing,first it was the head to head­ rule that has been abadon in the world,then the banning­ of togo,how can caf be so heartless,insensetive and­ inconsiderate..............i think lovers of African­ football should come together and support Togo and­ stamp our authourity on our game.they lost their loved­ ones and yet they are been punished.i think IT IS TIME­ WE PUSH HAYATAU OUT.
    SEYI

    From Adelusi, on Tue 9 Feb 1:57

  11. I just hope ALL the African Countries boycott the next­ competition...

    From michael s, on Tue 9 Feb 1:47

  12. Onyema

    Here's your answer : no govt.­ interference. UEFA has all the rights to step in but­ not Russian, Georgian or Azerbaijan govt. calling the­ shots. Once again, no govt interference. Togo govt.­ take note.

    From Chukwuemeka, on Tue 9 Feb 0:49

  13. European football's governing body decided before­ Sunday's draw that neighbours Russia and Georgia­ would be separated if they were drawn in the same­ group, as would Azerbaijan and Armenia, two more former­ Soviet republics.
    UEFA had to enforce their ruling and­ move Armenia to Group B after they were drawn in Group­ A with Azerbaijan.

    The two countries had refused to­ play each other during the 2008 European championship­ qualifiers.

    If this were to happen in Africa, it would­ result in the teams been banned. Why is this not seen­ as political interference in football.

    From Onyema, on Tue 9 Feb 0:04

  14. Dear Fritz, i strongly disagree with your views on­ this. Bread winners for their various families were cut­ down in their prime, and all CAF officials were­ concerned about was for the games to continue.
    Its sad­ that human lives are not deemed valuable any more. Is­ there a form of politicking that is more than what CAF­ has done yet they accuse the togolese government of­ interfering. In Africa sports is funded by the­ Government and as such they play a big role.
    CAF should­ own up to the fact that they have goofed on this and­ apologize to the good people of Togo.

    From Onyema, on Mon 8 Feb 23:22

  15. Hi Fritz,
    I don't know who you're, but I­ disagree on your feeling about CAF's­ ''correct'' decision.
    Your comparisons­ are two different issues in which a player died of­ natural cause, and the others in Angola were killed.­ Not one person, but multiple.
    Penalty - Ban and Fine!!!­ I don't seem to get what you meant by separation of­ Football from government. Is it not the same Government­ that are responsible for protecting its people? Or is­ it not he same Government that compensate them for­ their representation?
    I know there might be some­ excesses on Government's part in some­ cases/countries, but certainly not in this case.

    From Adeoluwa, on Mon 8 Feb 2:40

  16. this stupid people called caf are idiots,that all i can­ say

    From kingsley, on Sun 7 Feb 21:59
  17. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Dear All,
    It’s sad we try to bring politics in to­ football. Have you all forgotten what happened at the­ confederations cup in France? Between Cameroon and­ Colombia. A Cameroonian player died on the field of­ play. Cameroon did not pullout of the competition. They­ played the finals against France and lost. We are not­ saying that what happened in Angola was correct.­
    Remember that the Togoleses player wanted to go on­ with the competition but the administration stopped­ them and pulled them out.
    Its high time African­ politicians should allow football for footballers. It’s­ because of political intervention in most of our­ national teams that you will still find players that­ are almost 40 or even above and they are still playing.­ The state will not allow its football federation to­ choose its own coach because there is someone somewhere­ in the administration that will only be looking at its­ own interest and not that of football.
    A minister will­ tell a coach to appoint his my brother’s son in the­ national team. Knowing fully well that the brother’s­ son does not deserve playing for the national team.
    Or­ you take the case of Cameroon with French & English­ specking Cameroonians. But for the fact that you are­ from the minority (English) you don’t have a right to­ play in the national team.
    The list is so long. We can­ go on and on and on.
    Politics has no place in sports.­ That’s why Africa with all its football talents is­ still far behind the other continents.
    All this has­ to stop. The decision that CAF has taken is correct.

    From Fritz, on Sun 7 Feb 2:59

  18. Hello everyone, if all are reading this and CAF­ official ever care and get to read as well, then I want­ to say that the loss of the Togolese football officials­ with subsequent fining and banning from future­ competition shows how insensitive CAF is to human­ lives.
    Apart from the Legal action that has been­ embarked upon against CAF and the Rebel groups, I think­ Angolan government and their football organizing­ committee should be sued alongside for negligence and­ lack of proper information management.
    On a final­ note, it's has come to the point where either the­ CAF governing body is dissolved and reconstituted with­ removal of Issa Hayatuh, or if this would not be­ possible, then other countries should boycott the­ competition, if the Togo ban is not reversed or a new­ football organizing body be formed in parallel to look­ after Africans and their football in an holistic­ approach and not for financial gains alone as currently­ being demonstrated by CAF.
    Am really disappointed in­ CAF to say the least.
    Ade.

    From Adeoluwa, on Sun 7 Feb 1:40

  19. Shame on CAF
    The African governing football body should­ be very ashamed of itself if it bans Togo for the next­ two competitions of the African Cup of Nations­ competition. After losing two members of their­ 'family' and a driver transporting them to­ their competition venue, what did the CAF president­ expect them to do: Play in an environment that was­ hostile to them? I DON'T THINK SO. It's even­ worse than shameful that CAF did not offer this team,­ their citizens, and all of Africa a condolence message.­ SHAME! SHAME!! SHAME!!!.

    We in Africa love football,­ but there is life after football. The people of Togo­ deserve to be compensated and consoled, not banished­ from the game for two competitions. WHERE IS YOUR­ HEART, O! AFRICA? Is this what we have become now. I­ may be a Nigerian, but these Togolese are my own­ people. We are brothers.

    To the leader of FLEC,­ Rodrigues Mingas, who lives in France who is claiming­ responsibility that his rebels perpetrated this­ horrific atrocity: Are you happy now? Why don't you­ go home to your enclave in Cabinda and fight if you are­ such a macho man, instead of hiding in France and­ telling the French media that "this was not a­ premeditated hit against the bus of our brothers of­ Togo." You shouldn't be ambushing and killing­ people indiscriminately. The blood of these Togolese­ and Angolan are in your hands and you must account for­ what happened to them. You cannot escape from their­ judgment.

    To you CAF, if Togo is kicked out of the­ competition for two series, then I know the­ organization has really lost its empathy.

    Uka

    From UKAO, on Sat 6 Feb 2:02
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