Seydou Keita says the African Cup of Nations should have been cancelled after the shooting of the Togo bus.
Midfielder admits he is 'scared' to be in Angola
Barcelona and Mali midfielder Seydou Keita says the African Cup of Nations should have been cancelled after the shooting of the Togo team bus.
Three members of the Togo party were killed following the incident in Angola on Friday, when armed rebels fired machine guns at the vehicle.
Togo have pulled out of the tournament, while players from other nations have admitted security fears for the remainder of the competition.
Keita, 29, scored twice in Mali's epic comeback against the hosts on Sunday but admits he is scared to be in Angola.
"If only the competition had been cancelled," he said. "You can't leave home to die.
"Personally, I have to say that I am scared because I don't know this country.
"After seeing what happened to Togo, I am scared. You don't know when a problem could happen again.
"My only worry is returning home."
Cloud
The Barcelona star also thinks that the whole incident paints African football in an extremely negative light and he wants the authorities to make sure this never happens again.
"What happened is a very difficult situation for Togo but it is also very negative for African football," he added.
"The Confederation of African Football and politicians of this continent have to take measures to avoid these situations.
"Football has become something very important throughout the world and the image which has been left following the attack is something very bad for African football.
"We came here to play not to die."
Mali's next game in the competition is against World Cup qualifiers Algeria on Thursday.
