The Nigeria Football Federation has thrown out the claim that the Libyan players were badly treated ahead of the African Cup of Nations Qualifiers against the Super Eagles on Friday, October 11.
The Libya national team captain, Faisal Al Badri, said the NFF maltreated them when they arrived in Nigeria for the game.
The Nigeria Football Federation assistant director of protocol, Emmanuel Ayanbunmi, revealed they didn’t delay the Libya national team when they arrived in Nigeria for the game.
Ayanbunmi said, “I spoke to the General Secretary of LFF at length on Monday, 7th October, and he never hinted that his team would be arriving on Tuesday the following day.”
“He only said he would get back to me, but he never did.”
“On Monday evening, someone sent as an advance party by the LFF called me and said his team would be arriving on Tuesday by noon.”
“We made all arrangements to receive the team in Uyo on arrival.”
“It was only an hour after the team was airborne that he told me the delegation would land in Port Harcourt.”
“That disrupted so many things, but we still raced on hurdles to get approval from federal authorities to allow their plane to fly them to Uyo”
“once they concluded immigration formalities in Port Harcourt.”
“Apparently, that would have meant additional cost to the LFF from the charter company.”
“They didn’t want that, so they preferred to travel from Port Harcourt to Uyo by road.”
In addition, Ayanbunmi said that the Libya Football Federation ignored the bus that was meant for the team.
The Director of the NFF added, “If they traveled on buses that were not air-conditioned.”
“That had nothing to do with the NFF as they hired their buses.”
“We provided security for them, with men and vehicles in front and behind their buses.”
How The Libya Football Federation Held The Super Eagles Stars Hostage At The Libya Airport
The Libya Football Federation held the Super Eagles of Nigeria hostage at the Libya airport. This came after the Super Eagles’ flight was diverted to the Al Abraq Airport instead of their planned destination, Benghazi, Libya.
The Libya National team told the Super Eagles to drive to another city. The city is a two-hour drive away from Benghazi, the venue of their qualification match scheduled for 8 p.m. WAT on Tuesday, October 15.
Hence, the NFF has decided to pull out the Super Eagles from participating in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers against Libya amid the delay in their exit from the Al Abraq Airport after almost 20 hours of being held hostage.
The NFF released an official statement to confirm the Nigeria national team won’t play the game against the Libyan side.
The statement read, “The Nigerian delegation for Tuesday’s 2025 AFCON qualifier against Libya is still at Al Abraq Airport, 12 hours after landing.”
“The chartered ValueJet aircraft was, strangely and in a dangerous manner.”
“it diverted to the small airport just as the pilot completed his approach to Benghazi Airport.”
“Players have resolved not to play the match any longer”
“The NFF officials are making plans to fly the team back home.”
The Confederation of Africa Football has failed to react to the incident. However, there are likely chances that the African Football Federation will take action against the Libya side.
What happened in the match between Nigeria and Libya?
The Super Eagles of Nigeria struggled against the Libya national team, but they were able to triumph over their opponent. Fisayo Dele-Bashiru scored a late goal in the second half in a 1-0 win to secure all three points for the Super Eagles.
In the match, Ademola Lookman’s goal was ruled out for offside, which prompted a lot of questions about the officiating ability of the African referees. Spectators stated clearly that it was a huge mistake from the officials, and there was no VAR to correct their horrible mistake, which could have cost the Super Eagles the game.
What Could Happen If the Super Eagles Decide to Boycott the Next Game?
If the Super Eagles decide to boycott the next game, they will lose all three points. Also, the CAF will impose a fine on the Nigeria national team for boycotting.
What do you think about the Libya Football Federation’s action? Air your views in the comments section.
