Togo must wait on cup ban ruling, says sports court

The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Thursday refused a request to allow Togo to be included in the qualifying draw for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations at the weekend.

Togo pulled out of last month’s tournament in Angola at the insistence of the Togolese government after a deadly rebel attack injured players and left two members of their delegation dead.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF), which organises the event, later banned Togo from taking part in the next two tournaments in Equitorial Guinea in 2012 and Libya in 2014 because of “government interference”.

The Togolese FA had asked the Swiss-based court for the ban to be temporarily lifted so that they could be included in Saturday’s draw for the 2012 edition.

But the arbitration panel rejected their call, saying in a statement that their absence “would not call into question the participation of the team in the first qualifying matches for the CAN 2012 which will start in September 2010”.

It added that the CAF has confirmed there would be “no material obstacle to the organisation of a new draw in the event that the appeal of the Football Federation of Togo is upheld”.

A final ruling on Togo’s ban is expected in spring this year, the statement added.