Togo’s reaction was swift after the accusations by Niger’s local coach. The latter accuses the Togolese Football Federation (FTF) of having badly organised the arrival of the Nigerian players and manipulated the Covid tests. Through a press conference on Monday, the Togolese Football Federation officially pronounced itself on the subject, before announcing its intention to refer the matter to the African Football Confederation (CAF).
Speaking to the press on Monday 29 August 2022, the Togolese Football Federation (FTF) rejected all accusations made by Niger’s local coach, Harouna Doula. Accusations that the FTF voluntarily reduced the number of Nigerien A’ players by more than half due to positive Covid tests, in order to win the match on Sunday 28 August by the score of (1-0).
“This is not the first time we have hosted national teams in our country. We’ve played a lot of high-stakes games and it never crossed our minds to go to anyone to plot a coup against anyone. I don’t think that’s the case. Maybe they are used to doing that at home, but unfortunately we are not used to that… They even asked for a counter-expertise test, which is obviously not even in the texts of the CAF, but we turned a blind eye to that to calm the atmosphere. Unfortunately that didn’t stop them from shooting at us afterwards. The Secretary General of the FTF, Hervé Agbodan, told the media.
Referral to the CAF to prevent disputes.
With the return match to be played next Saturday in Cotonou, Benin, the local Mena coach had promised to return the favour to the Togolese. He made this clear during the after-match press conference. For Togo, these statements are “serious” and the FTF intends to refer the matter to CAF (Confederation of African Football) in order to protest and prevent any dispute next Saturday.
“This statement, we will pass it on to CAF and see. Fortunately or unfortunately, the match is not being played in Niger. Benin is also a country of law and has practically the same rules as Togo. We believe that the rules of law and the rules of organisation of competitions as defined by CAF will be applied. But even so, we will be vigilant and take measures if necessary to avoid falling into their traps,” he said. the Secretary General of the FTF, Hervé Agbodan.
“In any case, we will write to CAF to protest against this unfriendly gesture of a brotherly country, which should, despite everything that happens to them, be sincere in their declarations instead of making it seem as if in Togo, there are people who are there to tamper with the results. We are also going to write to CAF to complain, because the right to complain does not belong only to Nigerians. And we even have the evidence of what we are saying, and we can bring this evidence to support what we are going to say. he added.
A total of seven matches took place on Sunday 28 August 2022 for the last first part of second round of the CHAN (African Nations Championship 2023) qualifiers. Ghana were able to win at home against Nigeria with a score of two goals to nil. The Indomitable Lions A’ of Cameroon could not do anything against Equatorial Guinea on the road.
All the results of this Sunday:
Tanzania – Uganda (0-1)
Angola – South Africa (2-0)
Togo – Niger (1-0)
Ghana – Nigeria (2-0)
Central African Republic – Congo-Brazzaville (2-1)
Chad-DR Congo (1-2)
Equatorial Guinea – Cameroon (1-0)
