Ex-Togo minister in custody over friendly fraud

Former Togo sports minister Antoine Folly remains in police custody in the wake of a probe into the team of imposters masquerading as Togo internationals who played in a friendly against Bahrain.

“Mr Folly was arrested overnight Thursday to Friday at his home in Lome and driven to the police station. He was kept at the police station where he was questioned,” a member of Folly’s family told AFP on Monday.

Two other members of Togo FA’s caretaker committee are also to be quizzed, according to sources close to the committee.

Former national coach Bana Tchanile was the man behind one of the most embarrassing episodes in the west African country’s sporting history when he pitched up in the Bahraini capital of Manama for the September 7 match.

Bahrain won the game, a warm-up for the West Asian Football Federation Championship, 3-0, only for it to later emerge that they had beaten a bunch of fraudsters.

Tchanile has since been banned for three years and has offered his apologies for his “mistakes”.