DORTMUND, Germany, 19 June 2006 — Togo’s pay dispute took a new twist yesterday when FIFA intervened to ensure the African team did not become the first to boycott at World Cup match.
FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren said soccer’s world governing body was forced to act after receiving reports that the players did not want to board a plane from their training base in southern Germany to the central city of Dortmund ahead of today’s Group G match against Switzerland.
“There were rumors that they did not want to travel and play tomorrow,” Herren said. “This prompted us to open all contact channels to them to appeal to them to think of their responsibility to football and themselves and their country.
“It was a bit of a to and fro in the morning.”
He said “various levels” of FIFA delegates were involved in the negotiations, advising the players, “if you don’t travel, it could be the worst thing you could do.”
Herren said if Togo had boycotted the match, it would have been disqualified from the World Cup with faced further sanctions from FIFA’s disciplinary committee.
“As long as they travel, which I believe they have done, I think it’s OK.”
No team has ever boycotted a World Cup match since the tournament began in 1930.
A training session at Dortmund stadium scheduled for 3:30 p.m. local time (1330 GMT) was postponed until 8 p.m. (1800 GMT) because of the late arrival of the squad.
The players, most contracted to small European clubs, wanted US$200,000 each to play in the tournament, plus US$39,000 each per win and US$20,000 per draw.
This is a fortune in a coffee-and-yam-growing country where the average income is less than US$400 per year.
The reason for the threatened boycott was not immediately clear. At a news conference Saturday, players said that although the bonus row had not been settled, they wanted to concentrate on the Swiss match.
Players and coach Otto Pfister alike insisted that morale was high and that the team was determined to cause an upset against the more favored Swiss.
Togo was beaten 2-1 by South Korea in its opening match last week. They’re playing for World Cup survival against the Swiss.
The lowest ranked team at the tournament, Togo has caused some of the biggest headlines because of the off-pitch dramas.
Coach Pfister quit the team three days before the first match against South Korea, saying that he could not work properly if players kept boycotting training. Pfister only rejoined his team hours before the opening match. Pfister is now considering legal action against a senior Togolese federation official who accused him of being a drunkard and a traitor. The 68-year-old German says he doesn’t touch alcohol.
