Madness!!! (Togo banned from next two Africa Cups of Nations)

[Dave]

The "governmental interference" thing isn't out of nowhere, though. Isn't it the case that any national FA can be lumped out of FIFA if their government has been interfering in the game according to whatever criteria? Notion of keeping the sport free of interference from heavy-handed regimes etc etc? If the Togolese team/FA wanted to continue with the tournament but the government of Togo prevented that, that would explain it.

 

That's what happened, read out a statement from CAF on Five Live before.

[James]

Could we change the thread title so we know what this is actually about.

 

FIFA should make a stand here. Unban Togo, or the 2010 World Cup gets moved out of South Africa.

[OzzieMandias]

Sure, FIFA make a stand against their own rule, South Africa get punished for some other country's misdemeanour, and some non-African country has six months to get a WC together. Brilliant.

[James]

Sure, FIFA make a stand against their own rule, South Africa get punished for some other country's misdemeanour, and some non-African country has six months to get a WC together. Brilliant.

 

It is the CAF who has banned Togo, not FIFA.

[OzzieMandias]

Sure, FIFA make a stand against their own rule, South Africa get punished for some other country's misdemeanour, and some non-African country has six months to get a WC together. Brilliant.

 

It is the CAF who has banned Togo, not FIFA.

 

I think you'll find FIFA endorse the rule.

[thomas]

I wanted to make a 300 joke but yeah this is madness. 

[OzzieMandias]

http://www.playthegame.org/news/detailed/more-countries-under-fifa-monitoring-for-government-interference-4612.html

[Cronky]

I assume that the Togo government withdrew the team out of respect for those who lost their lives. Seems a perfectly proper decision to me. CAF just aren't using their common sense, in what was a very difficult situation.

[James]

Ozzie, the FIFA bans are for as long as the government interferes only and enforced by FIFA themselves, while this isn't just some political situation you cite, it is a situation where people have died and the CAF were unable to protect the Togo delegation. Therefore I find it highly unlikely that FIFA would support this, and the CAF should be sanctioned the only way possible if they see fit to proceed.

[OzzieMandias]

I assume that the Togo government withdrew the team out of respect for those who lost their lives. Seems a perfectly proper decision to me. CAF just aren't using their common sense, in what was a very difficult situation.

 

I remember the Togo team being ordered back for some national mourning jamboree. If that was against the wishes of the Togo FA and the team itself, it was wrong. If it was for the PR purposes of the Togolese government, it was wrong.

 

Tough on Togo's footballers, like.

[Ameritoon]

Like most have pointed out, it completely lacks common sense. The rule seems odd to me anyway, if a national association is getting so much interference by their government to the paint where they are essentially running it, then surely that would be grounds for punishment. But what's the Togo FA or whatever supposed to do when their government tells them to do something? They shouldn't be punished for everyone else messing up, including the CAF.

[OzzieMandias]

Ozzie, the FIFA bans are for as long as the government interferes only and enforced by FIFA themselves, while this isn't just some political situation you cite, it is a situation where people have died and the CAF were unable to protect the Togo delegation. Therefore I find it highly unlikely that FIFA would support this, and the CAF should be sanctioned the only way possible if they see fit to proceed.

 

I find it highly unlikely that FIFA won't support this. I find it extra unlikely that anyone with a brain would support South Africa getting punished for the actions of the Togolese.

[Thespence]

FIFA comment on this is "No comment"

[James]

Ozzie, the FIFA bans are for as long as the government interferes only and enforced by FIFA themselves, while this isn't just some political situation you cite, it is a situation where people have died and the CAF were unable to protect the Togo delegation. Therefore I find it highly unlikely that FIFA would support this, and the CAF should be sanctioned the only way possible if they see fit to proceed.

 

I find it highly unlikely that FIFA won't support this. I find it extra unlikely that anyone with a brain would support South Africa getting punished for the actions of the Togolese.

 

It is called brinkmanship. The CAF would withdraw with that threat imo.

[OzzieMandias]

Ozzie, the FIFA bans are for as long as the government interferes only and enforced by FIFA themselves, while this isn't just some political situation you cite, it is a situation where people have died and the CAF were unable to protect the Togo delegation. Therefore I find it highly unlikely that FIFA would support this, and the CAF should be sanctioned the only way possible if they see fit to proceed.

 

I find it highly unlikely that FIFA won't support this. I find it extra unlikely that anyone with a brain would support South Africa getting punished for the actions of the Togolese.

 

It is called brinkmanship. The CAF would withdraw with that threat imo.

 

If there was the remotest liklihood that FIFA would get all heavy-handed and start threatening one of their member associations in order to go against a rule they strictly uphold themselves, which of course there isn't.

[Cronky]

Ozzie, the FIFA bans are for as long as the government interferes only and enforced by FIFA themselves, while this isn't just some political situation you cite, it is a situation where people have died and the CAF were unable to protect the Togo delegation. Therefore I find it highly unlikely that FIFA would support this, and the CAF should be sanctioned the only way possible if they see fit to proceed.

 

I find it highly unlikely that FIFA won't support this. I find it extra unlikely that anyone with a brain would support South Africa getting punished for the actions of the Togolese.

 

It is called brinkmanship. The CAF would withdraw with that threat imo.

 

If there was the remotest liklihood that FIFA would get all heavy-handed and start threatening one of their member associations in order to go against a rule they strictly uphold themselves, which of course there isn't.

 

The rule exists to stop governments interfering with the appointments of managers, team selections, competition rules etc, for political ends. This is something completely different.

 

FIFA may well be in a difficult decision when it comes to deciding whether to intervene. That doesn't mean that the CAF have acted wisely.

[James]

Ozzie, the FIFA bans are for as long as the government interferes only and enforced by FIFA themselves, while this isn't just some political situation you cite, it is a situation where people have died and the CAF were unable to protect the Togo delegation. Therefore I find it highly unlikely that FIFA would support this, and the CAF should be sanctioned the only way possible if they see fit to proceed.

 

I find it highly unlikely that FIFA won't support this. I find it extra unlikely that anyone with a brain would support South Africa getting punished for the actions of the Togolese.

 

It is called brinkmanship. The CAF would withdraw with that threat imo.

 

If there was the remotest liklihood that FIFA would get all heavy-handed and start threatening one of their member associations in order to go against a rule they strictly uphold themselves, which of course there isn't.

 

Like I said, these political rules are enforced by FIFA, not CAF, UEFA or any of the others.

[OzzieMandias]

Ozzie, the FIFA bans are for as long as the government interferes only and enforced by FIFA themselves, while this isn't just some political situation you cite, it is a situation where people have died and the CAF were unable to protect the Togo delegation. Therefore I find it highly unlikely that FIFA would support this, and the CAF should be sanctioned the only way possible if they see fit to proceed.

 

I find it highly unlikely that FIFA won't support this. I find it extra unlikely that anyone with a brain would support South Africa getting punished for the actions of the Togolese.

 

It is called brinkmanship. The CAF would withdraw with that threat imo.

 

If there was the remotest liklihood that FIFA would get all heavy-handed and start threatening one of their member associations in order to go against a rule they strictly uphold themselves, which of course there isn't.

 

The rule exists to stop governments interfering with the appointments of managers, team selections, competition rules etc, for political ends. This is something completely different.

 

FIFA may well be in a difficult decision when it comes to deciding whether to intervene. That doesn't mean that the CAF have acted wisely.

 

I don't know anything about the political situation in Togo, but it doesn't take much imagination to come up with a scenario whereby the Togolese government called the players back for a day of national mourning in order to make some political use of the event.

[James]

Ozzie, the FIFA bans are for as long as the government interferes only and enforced by FIFA themselves, while this isn't just some political situation you cite, it is a situation where people have died and the CAF were unable to protect the Togo delegation. Therefore I find it highly unlikely that FIFA would support this, and the CAF should be sanctioned the only way possible if they see fit to proceed.

 

I find it highly unlikely that FIFA won't support this. I find it extra unlikely that anyone with a brain would support South Africa getting punished for the actions of the Togolese.

 

It is called brinkmanship. The CAF would withdraw with that threat imo.

 

If there was the remotest liklihood that FIFA would get all heavy-handed and start threatening one of their member associations in order to go against a rule they strictly uphold themselves, which of course there isn't.

 

The rule exists to stop governments interfering with the appointments of managers, team selections, competition rules etc, for political ends. This is something completely different.

 

FIFA may well be in a difficult decision when it comes to deciding whether to intervene. That doesn't mean that the CAF have acted wisely.

 

I don't know anything about the political situation in Togo, but it doesn't take much imagination to come up with a scenario whereby the Togolese government called the players back for a day of national mourning in order to make some political use of the event.

 

The political situation was that people were murdered, the whole Togo team witnessed it, and the players needed someone to tell them what to do. That is all there is to it.

[OzzieMandias]

Ozzie, the FIFA bans are for as long as the government interferes only and enforced by FIFA themselves, while this isn't just some political situation you cite, it is a situation where people have died and the CAF were unable to protect the Togo delegation. Therefore I find it highly unlikely that FIFA would support this, and the CAF should be sanctioned the only way possible if they see fit to proceed.

 

I find it highly unlikely that FIFA won't support this. I find it extra unlikely that anyone with a brain would support South Africa getting punished for the actions of the Togolese.

 

It is called brinkmanship. The CAF would withdraw with that threat imo.

 

If there was the remotest liklihood that FIFA would get all heavy-handed and start threatening one of their member associations in order to go against a rule they strictly uphold themselves, which of course there isn't.

 

The rule exists to stop governments interfering with the appointments of managers, team selections, competition rules etc, for political ends. This is something completely different.

 

FIFA may well be in a difficult decision when it comes to deciding whether to intervene. That doesn't mean that the CAF have acted wisely.

 

I don't know anything about the political situation in Togo, but it doesn't take much imagination to come up with a scenario whereby the Togolese government called the players back for a day of national mourning in order to make some political use of the event.

 

The political situation was that people were murdered, the whole Togo team witnessed it, and the players needed someone to tell them what to do. That is all there is to it.

 

History is littered with dictators who think they know what people need to be told to do.

[James]

Ozzie, the FIFA bans are for as long as the government interferes only and enforced by FIFA themselves, while this isn't just some political situation you cite, it is a situation where people have died and the CAF were unable to protect the Togo delegation. Therefore I find it highly unlikely that FIFA would support this, and the CAF should be sanctioned the only way possible if they see fit to proceed.

 

I find it highly unlikely that FIFA won't support this. I find it extra unlikely that anyone with a brain would support South Africa getting punished for the actions of the Togolese.

 

It is called brinkmanship. The CAF would withdraw with that threat imo.

 

If there was the remotest liklihood that FIFA would get all heavy-handed and start threatening one of their member associations in order to go against a rule they strictly uphold themselves, which of course there isn't.

 

The rule exists to stop governments interfering with the appointments of managers, team selections, competition rules etc, for political ends. This is something completely different.

 

FIFA may well be in a difficult decision when it comes to deciding whether to intervene. That doesn't mean that the CAF have acted wisely.

 

I don't know anything about the political situation in Togo, but it doesn't take much imagination to come up with a scenario whereby the Togolese government called the players back for a day of national mourning in order to make some political use of the event.

 

The political situation was that people were murdered, the whole Togo team witnessed it, and the players needed someone to tell them what to do. That is all there is to it.

 

History is littered with dictators who think they know what people need to be told to do.

 

Did you miss the bit where Adebayor actually asked the Togo government through the press to tell the team what to do?

[OzzieMandias]

Ozzie, the FIFA bans are for as long as the government interferes only and enforced by FIFA themselves, while this isn't just some political situation you cite, it is a situation where people have died and the CAF were unable to protect the Togo delegation. Therefore I find it highly unlikely that FIFA would support this, and the CAF should be sanctioned the only way possible if they see fit to proceed.

 

I find it highly unlikely that FIFA won't support this. I find it extra unlikely that anyone with a brain would support South Africa getting punished for the actions of the Togolese.

 

It is called brinkmanship. The CAF would withdraw with that threat imo.

 

If there was the remotest liklihood that FIFA would get all heavy-handed and start threatening one of their member associations in order to go against a rule they strictly uphold themselves, which of course there isn't.

 

The rule exists to stop governments interfering with the appointments of managers, team selections, competition rules etc, for political ends. This is something completely different.

 

FIFA may well be in a difficult decision when it comes to deciding whether to intervene. That doesn't mean that the CAF have acted wisely.

 

I don't know anything about the political situation in Togo, but it doesn't take much imagination to come up with a scenario whereby the Togolese government called the players back for a day of national mourning in order to make some political use of the event.

 

The political situation was that people were murdered, the whole Togo team witnessed it, and the players needed someone to tell them what to do. That is all there is to it.

 

History is littered with dictators who think they know what people need to be told to do.

 

Did you miss the bit where Adebayor actually asked the Togo government through the press to tell the team what to do?

 

Doesn't affect the point I am making in the slightest. If the players wanted to stay, if the Togo FA wanted them to stay, then there is a conflict.

[Segun Oluwaniyi]

It's a very interesting decision. If one is going strictly by the rules, then Togo ought to be banned because it was the government who went against the FA and pulled them out. The precedent was set in 1996 with Nigeria. We pulled out of 1996 over "safety fears" (Was bulls*** politics from Abacha in all honesty) and were banned from 1998. The penalty is too harsh, though. There are extenuationg circumstances here, and Togo should only be fined for inconveniencing the tournament. I don't understand why their ban is harsher than Nigeria's when they had a rather legitimate reason for leaving.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I would think being shot at by armed militants is a good enough reason to make an exception, even if it's only on compassionate grounds.

 

I can't imagine how the players could have played games of football in the few days after the incident anyway.

[OzzieMandias]

I would think being shot at by armed militants is a good enough reason to make an exception, even if it's only on compassionate grounds.

 

I can't imagine how the players could have played games of football in the few days after the incident anyway.

 

They wanted to play, though. How come everyone else supposedly knows better?