Togolese Football Association (FTF) chairman Tata Avlessi has said the three players banned from the national team have to apologise before being reintegrated
Posted by African Press International on May 23, 2007
Lome (Togo) – Togolese Football Association (FTF) chairman Tata Avlessi has said the three players banned from the national team have to apologise before being reintegrated, APA has learnt.
“They must be courageous enough to accept they were wrong and apologise,” Avlessi told a press conference Monday in the Togolese capital.
The Togolese FA on 25 March banned Emmanuel Adébayor (Arsenal, England), Abdel Kader Coubadja (Jazira of Abou Dhabi, Emirates) and Nibombé Daré (Mons, Belgium) until further notice for “indiscipline”.
The players were demanding the payment of an outstanding 30 million CFA francs from their World Cup bonuses, recalling that each player received 50 million CFA francs (101,337 dollars) out of the agreed 80 (162,140 dollars) following FIFA-brokered negotiations.
Avelessi vowed he will have the final say and will not recoil from his decision, warning he was ready to do without the trio when the Sparrow hawks play hosts Sierra Leone on 3 June as part of round four in the CAN 2008 qualifiers.
“We are going to trust the others,” he said, adding however that “the FA doors remain open for any discussion”.
“I do not want to be pressured,” Avlessi said, though he conceded the three are valuable players.
“I am not contesting the talent of Sheyi Adebayor. He is our only star. I think it is rather him who must help Togolese football…but none is indispensable,” the FA boss contended.
A group of football league chairpersons recently demanded that the bans be lifted and mandated Gomido Kpalimé club chairman Winny Dogbatsé to mediate the crisis.
Dogbatsé met the suspended players last week and will proceed to Lome this week as part of the mediation.
Published by Korir, African Press International, API, africanpress@chello.no tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 6300 2525 source.apa
