'Fake' Togo football team at Bahrain

Pjuske2

Pjuske2

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11304208
Togo's football authorities are investigating allegations that a fake national team played a match against Bahrain earlier this month.

Bahrain won the friendly match 3-0, but said they were surprised by the poor quality of the Togolese team.

Togo later said it had never sent its national team to play in the game, staged at the national stadium in Riffa on 7 September.

Togo's sports minister said he would ask Fifa to investigate.

But Fifa says it has not yet received any official complaint and so has not launched its own investigation.

The match took place as Bahrain prepares to play in the West Asian Football Championships, which begin on 24 September.

The Bahrain Football Association (BFA) said it had been arranged under all the usual official procedures, and through an agent they had known for several years.

"Everything seemed to be in order until after the game, when we began to hear that some people are wondering about these players and this Togo team. We ourselves were surprised when we heard this," a BFA spokesman told the Gulf Daily News.

He said they had received all the official documentation for the match, including the players' passports.

The spokesman rejected reports that the match was organised by a fake football agent, saying the agent in question had always been "100% alright" and was now co-operating with the investigations.

Togo's Sport Minister Christophe Tchao told the Jeune Afrique magazine nobody in Togo had "ever been informed of such a game".

"We will conduct investigations to uncover all those involved in this case," he said.

Bahrain's head coach, Josef Hickersberger, told the Gulf Daily News the match had been a wasted opportunity for the team to practise before the West Asian championships.

"They were not fit enough to play 90 minutes - the match was very boring," he said.

"Basically it was not good for us because we wanted to get information about the strength of our team, especially playing with many of our professionals."
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:lol::blink::lol:
 
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Just when you had thought you had heard everything, then something as unlikely as this happens.

What is WTF in Bahraini or Togolese for that matter?
:lol:
 
Alasondro Alegr? said:
Looks like Togo coach is getting a three year ban (presumably, that means he's getting sacked as well).
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Actally he is the former coach
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2886...-former-coach-bana-tchanile-for-fielding-fake
The interim committee of Togolese Football Federation (FTF) on Sunday suspended former national team coach Bana Tchanile from all sporting activities for a period of three years.

Tchanile lead a fake Togolese national team to play Bahrain in a Fifa-recognised friendly on September 7, state television TVT said on Monday.

The Bahrain Football Association (BFA) had contacted Togo immediately after the match played in Manama after suspicions arose about the manner of the Asian side's 3-0 win.

Togo?s coach Thierry Froger had confirmed having no contacts with the mysterious players before revealing that the players from the official national team had departed to their respective clubs after the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Botswana in Gaborone played on September 5.

The BFA alerted Fifa thereafter and a joint investigation with Togo?s FA was launched late last week.

"According to our investigations, the organization, preparation and monitoring of the match had been cleverly planned by Tchanile Bana," the interim committee of the FTF said in a statement signed by its president General Seyi Memene.

"This initiative of Mr. Tchanile was taken without the knowledge, approval or adhesion of the interim committee. Investigations are still underway to locate the responsibilities of all those involved in this case and we promise that subsequent sanctions will be taken against them."

This is not the first time the West African nation has experienced such controversy in its football. A similar situation occurred last August when the same Tchanile Bana led a fake Olympic team to a tournament in Cairo, Egypt.
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I like how they were crap and Bahrain only managed to beat them three-nil
 
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