LOME (AP) The Togo team that lost 3-0 to Bahrain in a friendly last week was "completely fake," the chairman of Togo's interim soccer federation said Tuesday.
Seiyi Memene said the federation did not know the players that claimed to represent Togo in the match at Bahrain's National Stadium in Riffa last Tuesday.
"We cannot send our players to play friendly matches abroad without the approval of FIFA," Memene said. "The players that took part in the friendly match against Bahrain were completely fake. We have not sent any team of footballers to Bahrain. The players are not known to us."
Nabine Gnonh, chief of staff at Togo's sports ministry, said both the ministry and the federation have now opened an investigation.