Posted January 8, 201015 yr Gunmen have opened fire with machine guns on a bus carrying Togo's football team to the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, wounding several players. Officials say the shooting occurred in the Angolan area of Cabinda after the bus crossed from the Republic of Congo. There are reports of serious injuries. Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor is unhurt, his club Mancheter City said. Togo's first game is due on Monday in oil-rich Cabinda, where rebels have been fighting for independence. In a statement, Manchester City said it had spoken with Adebayor, who was "shaken by the terrible events" but "unharmed". The bus was travelling to Cabinda from the squad's training ground in Congo when the shooting occurred. Those injured also include team doctors. The identities of the injured are not known. Africa Cup of Nations officials described the attackers as armed robbers. Togo striker Thomas Dossevi told France's RMC radio that several players were "in a bad state". "We were machine-gunned, like dogs," he said. "At the border with Angola - machine-gunned! I don't know why. I thought it was some rebels. We were under the seats of the bus for 20 minutes, trying to get away from the bullets." Togo are due to play Ghana, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast in their group matches. Their first game is against Ghana. Coach driver is dead. Apparently a couple of the players are quite seriously injured.. not sure on their identities yet. It's such a sad thing though.
January 8, 201015 yr This is exactly why FIFA awarding the World Cup in 2010 to a country which has a higher fatally rate through death via shooting and robbery (according to 2007 UN statistics) than either Iraq or Afghanistan is a disaster waiting to happen.
January 9, 201015 yr It's a huge shame that something like this has happened, but is it just me that isn't overly surprised?
January 9, 201015 yr It's a huge shame that something like this has happened, but is it just me that isn't overly surprised? Not in the slightest, unfortunately. :( Just as I don't expect the World Cup fixture in June in South Africa between England & the USA to go ahead peacefully.
January 9, 201015 yr 13:02 GMT, Saturday, 9 January 2010 BBC News Togo withdraw from Africa Cup of Nations Stunned Togo players in disbelief after attack Togo have pulled out of the Africa Cup of Nations as the death toll following the attack on their team bus in Angola rose to three, according to reports. The assistant coach, press officer and driver were killed. Two players were shot and injured in Friday's attack. Organisers insist the tournament will go ahead and still want Togo to play. But Togo midfielder Alaixys Romao told French paper L'Equipe: "We're talking to the other teams in our group to try to convince them to boycott too." Togo were due to play Ghana in their opening match in the northern Angola province of Cabinda, where the attack took place, on Monday. Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso are the other teams in Group B. According to BBC sources, organisers are currently trying to persuade Togo to remain in Angola and have pledged to strengthen security measures. Togo coach Hubert Velud told French radio station RMC that he thought the Angolan authorities should consider cancelling the entire tournament. "We can at least pose that question," he said. "It's an act of barbarism while we are here to celebrate African football. "We left the hospital a short time ago to come to the centre for the teams in the competition. We stayed in the hospital a long time so that we could be very united. "In these situations you become a bit paranoid, you doubt everything. We don't feel that the authorities are taking this very seriously." Aston Villa's Togolese midfielder Moustapha Salifou was thankful for the presence of the security team after he emerged unscathed from the incident, which happened after the team had entered Angola from neighbouring Congo, but he said he felt lucky to be alive. He told Villa's website: "Our security people saved us. They were in two cars, about 10 of them in total, and they returned fire. "The shooting lasted for half an hour and and I could hear the bullets whistling past me. It was like a movie. "It was only 15 minutes after we crossed the border into Angola that we came under heavy fire. The driver was shot almost immediately and died instantly so we were just stopped on the road with nowhere to go. "I know I am really lucky. I was in the back of the coach with Emmanuel Adebayor and one of the goalkeepers. A defender sat in front of me took two shots in the back. "The goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale Dodo, one of my best friends, was shot in the stomach and was flown to South Africa to undergo an operation to save his life. "It was horrific. Everybody was crying. I don't know how anyone can do this. "I am back at our camp in Cabinda with my team-mates but we all want to go home to Togo. We have made our decision. We can't play in these circumstances and want to leave for home. "We don't want to compete in the tournament because our assistant manager and the press officer have been killed. As a team we have made this decision." Togo captain, and Manchester City striker, Adebayor, who was on the coach but also unharmed, has been told by his club that he will be given as much time as needs to recover from the attack. On Friday he said many of his team-mates wanted to go home. He told BBC Afrique: "It's a football game, it's one of the biggest tournaments in Africa and a lot of people would love to be in our position but I don't think anybody would be prepared to give their life. "If I am alive I can still play football tomorrow and in one year maybe even another Cup of Nations but I am not ready to pass away now." Defender Serge Akakpo, who plays for Romanian club Vaslui, was hit by two bullets and lost a lot of blood in the attack in Angola's oil-rich territory of Cabinda, which is due to host seven matches. Adebayor said the players were unsure whether Akakpo would survive at the time, but his club reported that his condition was stabilised and he underwent successful surgery. Reserve keeper Obilale, who plays for French club GSI Pontivy, was also wounded, while several other players required hospital treatment and were later seen with bandages on legs, hands and faces. "I don't think any of the players will be able to sleep after this," said Adebayor, who admitted they were all still in shock. "You cannot sleep after what we have seen - one of your team-mates with bullets in his body in front of you, crying and losing consciousness. It is very difficult." Souleymane Habuba, spokesman for organisers the Confederation of African Football (CAF), said the tournament would proceed despite the attack. "Our great concern is for the players, but the championship goes ahead," said Habuba, who questioned why Togo had elected to travel by road rather than flying. "CAF's regulations are clear: teams are required to fly rather than travel by bus," he added. Football's world governing body Fifa has expressed its concern about the attack. "Fifa and its president, Sepp Blatter, are deeply moved by today's incidents which affected Togo's national team, to whom they express their utmost sympathy," said a statement. "Fifa is in touch with the African Football Confederation (CAF) and its president, Issa Hayatou, from which it expects a full report on the situation."
January 9, 201015 yr It's shocking and disgraceful that anything like this should happen and it's understandable that Togo have withdrawn. It really ruins what should be a fun sporting event and it's a shame as the African Cup of Nations is my favourite football cup.
January 10, 201015 yr Wasn't there another shooting on a team last year in another country as well? I think you are thinking of the Sri Lankan Test Cricket team in Pakistan in March 2009: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/4...n-Pakistan.html
January 10, 201015 yr To be honest, as tragic as this is nothing will ever be as bad/world changing as this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_Olympics_massacre
January 10, 201015 yr The difference is that there's a separatist war going on in Cabinda, Rich :lol: South African crime is mainly street crime, it wouldn't affect the players...
January 10, 201015 yr The difference is that there's a separatist war going on in Cabinda, Rich :lol: South African crime is mainly street crime, it wouldn't affect the players... ???? So what. The facts remain that as reported on Radio 5 Live this afternoon the bookies have placed odds of just 6/5 odds that the World Cup in South Africa will pass peacefully without a World Cup football player or official being shot, injured or killed as a result of crime/terrorism during the tournament. Those odds are rather terrifying/depressing. Whilst if I was an Al Qaeda cell group I could not possibly think of a better opportunity for worldwide publicity this year than the WC fixture between England v USA. :(
January 10, 201015 yr ???? So what. The facts remain that as reported on Radio 5 Live this afternoon the bookies have placed odds of just 6/5 odds that the World Cup in South Africa will pass peacefully without a World Cup football player or official being shot, injured or killed as a result of crime/terrorism during the tournament. Those odds are rather terrifying/depressing. Whilst if I was an Al Qaeda cell group I could not possibly think of a better opportunity for worldwide publicity this year than the WC fixture between England v USA. :( You spoke of South Africa having higher shooting death rates than Afghanistan and Iraq, my point was that that was mainly street crime of the sort which is unlikely to affect any football players or officials... And these events are of such a big scale I really doubt the South Africans won't be getting help with security.
January 30, 201015 yr http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/8489127.stm Unbelieveable :rolleyes: :rolleyes: Players get shot, people die and the cnuts at FIFA/CAF fine and ban them for pulling out :rolleyes: Edited January 30, 201015 yr by B.A Baracus
January 30, 201015 yr The SA FIFA board will most likely offer fulltime armed security for ALL teams because of how bad the crime is, their only worry is how oblivious are the tourists going to be to it because tourists are the easiest to target for criminals etc. Especially in Soweto/Orlando Stadium - that area is the most ghetto and dangerous area in the whole country. Take my word for it, my father had to drive through Soweto for business and he got hijacked by about 15 black guys who beat him to almost death with cricket bats his two legs are still completely purple from it after 20 years . What TIP is saying is 100% spot on, they always have these adverts on TV telling us how every 26 seconds someone is raped in South Africa and every 45 seconds someone is murdered. So the safety issue is really no joke, Africa is definitely not for sissies. Hopefuly the tourists take that into account when they're here.
January 30, 201015 yr http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/8489127.stm Unbelieveable :rolleyes: :rolleyes: Players get shot, people die and the cnuts at FIFA/CAF fine and ban them for pulling out :rolleyes: Doesn't it say a lot about African football and FIFA that an incident like this happens and they blame the football nation that is attacked and do not censure the hosts for a lack of security (and therefore themselves). Mind you it is just like certain unelected "liberal" people who are not in touch with the real world but wield too much power in public administrations who blame the 9/11 & 7/7 attacks on the USA & UK governments and not on Al Qaeda.
January 30, 201015 yr Doesn't it say a lot about African football and FIFA that an incident like this happens and they blame the football nation that is attacked and do not censure the hosts for a lack of security (and therefore themselves). It's a ridiculous decision by the Confederation of African Football (not FIFA). What do they think would be a legitimate reason for withdrawing from a competition?
January 30, 201015 yr It's a ridiculous decision by the Confederation of African Football (not FIFA). What do they think would be a legitimate reason for withdrawing from a competition? FIFA's statutes (Article 64, sec. 3) prevent civil or political intervention in football matters. Therefore as the Togo government (rightly in my view) acted to tell the National team to come home they fell foul of FIFA's own statutes which is what all Continental football governing bodies belonging to FIFA must use as guidelines, and hence CAF have acted upon today. "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," Caf explained in its statement. "The decision by political authorities contravenes Caf and African Nations Cup regulations." The very fact World football governing body Fifa declined to comment on the ban when they specifically had an opportunity to condemn it speaks volumes....
January 30, 201015 yr FIFA's statutes (Article 64, sec. 3) prevent civil or political intervention in football matters. Therefore as the Togo government (rightly in my view) acted to tell the National team to come home they fell foul of FIFA's own statutes which is what all Continental football governing bodies belonging to FIFA must use as guidelines, and hence CAF have acted upon today. "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," Caf explained in its statement. "The decision by political authorities contravenes Caf and African Nations Cup regulations." The very fact World football governing body Fifa declined to comment on the ban when they specifically had an opportunity to condemn it speaks volumes.... Yes, technically, CAF were right. However, and I think we agree on this, they should have accepted that there were mitigating circumstances. I suspect the players were divided on whether to take part. Even some of those who had said they wanted to carry on may well have been relieved to be ordered home.
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