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The new "Arsenal" acquisition Emmanuel Adebayor announced he is leaving the Togo national team in the Africa Cup of Nations after not being included in the starting lineup for the first match against DR Congo.
Togo's national team coach Stephen Keshi told BBC that the striker was not included in the starting lineup because he had spent too little time with the team.
"He hasn't played for a long time, and last week he spent time finalizing his contract with Arsenal," the coach said. "Just before the match, I told him that I had included him in the lineup, but he said he didn't want to play."
Togo lost the first match of Group B against DR Congo 2-0. 21-year-old E. Adebayor was included in the starting lineup, but was removed just before the match due to stomach pain.
E. Adebayor came on as a substitute in that match and boosted the game of the trailing Togolese players. After the match, S. Keshi called the striker a "liar" and an "undisciplined player."
Meanwhile, E. Adebayor was brief: "I have finished participating in the Africa Cup of Nations and am going home to visit my sick mother."
E. Adebayor moved to "Arsenal" during the winter transfer window from "Monaco" after a falling out with the French club's management.
After the match, it was also revealed that it might not have taken place at all: DR Congo players had decided to boycott the match due to unpaid bonuses.
"This morning, after a long consultation, 23 team players came to me and told me they refuse to play," DR Congo coach Claude LeRoy told journalists. "I called President Joseph Kabila, who assured me that he would solve this problem. Later, I passed on his words to captain Lomana LuaLua."
