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Colombia players console Ivory Coast\'s Yaya Toure after the group C World Cup soccer match between Colombia and Ivory Coast at the Estadio Nacional in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, June 19, 2014. Colombia won the match 2-1. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Ivory Coast’s Yaya and Kolo Toure to stay at World Cup following brother’s death

RIO DE JANEIRO – Ivory Coast players Yaya and Kolo Toure will stay at the World Cup despite the death of their younger brother.

Team spokesman Eric Kakou said they were given the option of leaving the tournament after Ibrahim Toure died Thursday in England, aged 28.

Kakou said Saturday that Yaya and Kolo chose to stay with the team for its entire World Cup campaign. The Ivorians play Greece in their final Group C game Tuesday and will qualify for the last 16 for the first time with a win.

The Ivory Coast Football Federation said Ibrahim Toure died on the same day his older brothers were involved in the 2-1 loss to Colombia. The federation didn’t give a cause of death but British media reported he had been receiving treatment for cancer.

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