Adebayor blames Togo Football Federation for delayed Tottenham return

23/02/2013 8:35:00 AM

The 28-year old striker has blamed his country after joining up with his domestice team-mates late from Africa Cup Of Nations duty, insisting travel was not arranged for the squad

Emmanuel Adebayor has blamed the Togo Football Federation (TFF) for his delayed return to Tottenham after playing in the Africa Cup Of Nations.

The striker scored one and claimed two assists as Les Eperviers reached the quarter-finals of the competition, where they were beaten by eventual finalists Burkina Faso.

Adebayor had been criticised by Tottenham over his delayed return to the club, but has moved to attribute blame to his national side over the saga.

The Togo striker told reporters: "It took us four days to get a plane. On Thursday I had to call the president [Faure Gnassingbe] to tell him we had to leave South Africa. He told us to get to the airport at 4pm. We did, and we ended up staying at the airport for more than 10, 12 hours.

"That's not my fault, I couldn't do anything. I can't just put something on my body and fly from South Africa to London. I couldn't just abandon my team. We went to the quarter-finals of African Nations Cup, which was historical for my country.

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"I could not just jump on a plane and come back to Tottenham, because the president of the country wanted to see us and congratulate us. I am the captain so I have to be there. So that's what I did. Then I got the flight the club sent to me."

With Jermain Defoe out injured since the beginning of February, Tottenham have been left with Adebayor as the sole senior striker in the squad, and were frustrated with his delayed return.

However, Adebayor went on to suggest that other African nations provide flights for their players, whereas the TFF are not so considerate.

He said: "When Ivory Coast went out of the tournament, the president of the federation sent them a plane to get back.

"With Togo, it's not the same. You want to think about football but that's not the case with Togo. You have to concentrate on what you are going to eat, where you are going to sleep...

"That's what I have been doing for the last 10 years."