Salifou's account of Togo bus attack

Villa midfielder Moustapha Salifou has revealed the harrowing events of the Togo team bus shooting are still giving him nightmares.

The 26-year-old was on the coach which came under fire from Angolan rebels en route to the African Nations Cup last month, leaving three people dead.Speaking to the English press for the first time since the tragedy, an emotional Salifou was still haunted by the events.

He said: "Since I've come back, when I sleep now I know I'll wake up at three or four o'clock in the morning and dream that somebody is shooting at me.

"I feel bad for my team-mates and our assistant coach and press assistant who died, but it's life. I have to move on and forget it but it's not easy."

The driver, Togo's assistant manager and press officer were all killed in the attack on February 8 – and Salifou revealed the entire coach feared they would die.

He said: "After 15 minutes of the journey, they started to shoot. We had to lie on the floor and everyone was crying. We had to wait 30 minutes to travel.

"To be honest I was thinking that everybody was going to die on the coach but I can see that God saved us.

"We were just lying on the floor and then we heard the gun shots passing over our heads."

Togo have been banned from the next two African Nations Cups after pulling out of the competition.

Salifou insists the Confederation of African Football (CAF) only took such action because they are a small country.

He said: "They treat us like they have because we are a small country. If it had been Cameroon or the Ivory Coast, nobody is going to say they are banned from two African Nations Cups.

"If we had returned to the tournament, there were going to be no sanctions against Togo. Now they (CAF) say we have a four-year ban."