Togo player Alaixys Romao has decided not to go to Libya for Friday's
World Cup qualifier because of security concerns while striker Serge
Gakpe said the trip to the north African country is not worth risking
his life for.
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| Image: Courtesy |
World soccer's ruling body Fifa has moved Friday's Group I tie to
Tripoli after clashes between protesters and a militia killed at least
31 people on Saturday in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi where the
game was initially scheduled to be held.
However, the move was not enough to convince some players to make the trip.
"I'm about to take off from Lome to come back to France," Olympique Marseille midfielder Romao wrote on Twitter.
"After having been through a traumatising experience in 2010 at the
African Nations Cup in Angola I don't want my family to live with that
stress again," added the 29-year-old who has 50 international caps.
"Tripoli or Benghazi, what's the difference? I will change my mind only
if Fifa's officials who have made the decision come with us."
His concerns were echoed by teammate Gakpe in a French radio interview.
"To play a game of football in a climate of insecurity, to put my life
at risk for it is not worth the trouble," he said. "Several members of
the squad have the same mindset as me."
Libya, whose former ruler Muammar Gaddafi was toppled during the 2011
civil war, drew at home with Democratic Republic of Congo in their first
home game in more than two years on Friday, played under high security
in Tripoli.
They top the four-team group with six points from four games, with Togo bottom on four.