Soccer

Toures to remain at World Cup after brother’s death

Yaya and Kolo will stay with Ivory Coast squad in Brazil

Ibrahim Toure, the younger brother of the Ivory Coast pair Kolo and Yaya Toure, died in Manchester aged 28. He had been diagnosed with cancer. Photograph: Talal Salman/Reuters
Ibrahim Toure, the younger brother of the Ivory Coast pair Kolo and Yaya Toure, died in Manchester aged 28. He had been diagnosed with cancer. Photograph: Talal Salman/Reuters
Sat Jun 21 2014 - 13:44

Yaya and Kolo Toure have decided to stay with the Ivory Coast squad in Brazil following the death of their brother, a team spokesman has confirmed.

Ibrahim Toure, a 28-year-old player with the Lebanon-based Al Safa, died in Manchester on Thursday. He had been diagnosed with cancer.

Reports had claimed the brothers would leave Brazil to be with their family, but a team spokesman said that they would remain at the World Cup.

A spokesman for the Ivorian Football Federation said: “The Toure brothers, Kolo and Yaya, have decided to stay with the team. They are not leaving Brazil.”

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Ivory Coast face Greece in Fortaleza on Tuesday and a win will see them qualify for the last 16.

Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure played in the 2-1 defeat against Colombia, while Liverpool defender Kolo Toure was an unused substitute.