World Cup still safe in wake of Togo attack, says Jordaan
WORLD CUP chief Danny Jordaan has rounded on critics who have raised doubts about this summer’s tournament in South Africa following the attempted massacre of the Togo team at the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.
Hull manager Phil Brown was among those to voice fears about safety at the World Cup after three men were killed in a machine-gun attack on the Togo team bus on Friday. But Jordaan countered yesterday with a robust defence of his country’s safety measures, arguing that merely belonging to the same continent as Angola did not mean its security level would be similar.
“Phil Brown was saying the World Cup must be removed from South Africa. I found that very extraordinary. He is not well informed,” said Jordaan.
“Fortunately the majority of the world is not influenced by warped understanding of the African continent. If there is a war in Kosovo and a World Cup in Germany, no-one asks if the World Cup can go on in Germany, everyone understands the war in Kosovo is a war in Kosovo.”
Cup of Nations chiefs resisted calls to abandon the tournament following the Togo attack – a move that has not pleased Barcelona and Mali midfielder Seydou Keita. “If only the competition had been cancelled,” Keita said. “After seeing what happened to Togo, I am scared. You don’t know when a problem could happen again. We came here to play not to die.”
Last night, defending champions Egypt beat Nigeria 3-1, while Benin and Mozambique drew 2-2.