On This Day in 2010 – Emmanuel Adebayor retires from Togo duty after bus attack

Adebayor returned to the international scene in November 2011.

Emmanuel Adebayor quit international football following the attack (John Walton/PA) (PA Archive)

Emmanuel Adebayor retired from international football with Togo on this day in 2010 in the wake of a fatal gun attack.

The decision came after three months after a Togo team bus was fired upon during the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.

Three people were killed – the bus driver, an assistant coach and a press officer – when gunmen opened fire, with nine others injured.

“Following the tragic events during January’s African Cup of Nations, in which my fellow countrymen were killed by terrorists in Angola, I have made the very difficult decision to retire from international football,” Adebayor, who was at Manchester City at the time, said.

“I have weighed up my feelings in the weeks and months since the attack, and I am still haunted by the events I witnessed on that horrible afternoon on the Togo team bus.”

Togo were initially given a four-year ban by the Confederation of African Football after withdrawing from the competition but the suspension was eventually lifted by FIFA.

Adebayor returned to international duty in November 2011 and by then had joined Tottenham on loan.

Four more years at Spurs followed before a brief spell at Crystal Palace and then time in Turkey with Istanbul Basaksehir and Kayserispor. The 39-year-old retired last month.