Togo boss hands Adebayor ultimatum

Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor, seen here in April 2007. Togo's Nigerian coach Stephen Keshi has handed Adebayor and his fellow Togolese rebels a midnight ultimatum to turn up or be dropped.

Togo's Nigerian coach Stephen Keshi on Thursday handed Arsenal forward Emmanuel Adebayor and his fellow Togolese rebels a midnight ultimatum to turn up or be dropped.

Adebayor, along with Jazira Abu Dhabi forward Kader Cougbadja and Mons defender Nibombe Dare, were in March suspended from the Togo national team over a dispute about unpaid World Cup bonuses.

Togo are due to play Sierra Leone in an African Nations Cup qualifier in Freetown on June 3, but only a handful of players have so far turned up.

The three rebel players have had their suspensions lifted but Adebayor on Wednesday claimed he had no knowledge of the lifting and said he would not turn up to training until he was informed otherwise.

The Togolese federation responded by saying Adebayor had refused to receive a letter informing him of the lifting.

Now Keshi's patience is wearing thin.

"I am expecting them no later than tonight. If they don't come, that means they won't be playing against Sierra Leone," he told AFP.

"I will be obliged to plan with those that are here and ready to give their all."

The three players were suspended for indiscipline pertaining to their perceived lead role in demanding that World Cup players are paid around 45,000 euros of bonuses owed to them from last year.

Togo's World Cup participation in Germany was put in doubt days before the tournament began after the players threatened to boycott the tournament over unpaid bonuses.