The Libyan Football Federation has expressed strong disapproval of Nigeria’s decision to withdraw from the second-leg match in Benghazi. They announced that they will pursue all necessary legal actions to safeguard the interests of the Libyan football team.
In a statement released by The Libya Observer, the Libyan Football Federation (LFF) remarked that, despite experiencing inhumane treatment in Nigeria, they chose to participate in the first-leg match.
They also noted that the Nigerian team was uncooperative with the Libyan delegation during this process.
The LFF emphasized that the treatment they experienced in Nigeria was significantly harsher than what Nigeria encountered in Libya.
The recent situation arose when the Nigerian men’s senior football team, the Super Eagles, expressed safety concerns after being stuck at Al Abaq Airport for over 13 hours. During this time, they lacked access to essential needs such as food, water, and a place to rest.
The incident quickly sparked outrage, intensified by images showing the Super Eagles team sleeping on benches in the airport.
The Super Eagles captain, William Troost-Ekong, described the conditions at Al Abaq Airport as “disgraceful,” accusing Libyan authorities of deliberately playing “mind games” by revoking their landing permit and leaving the team stranded without basic amenities.
The ill-treatment prompted Nigeria to pull out of the match, initially set for Tuesday, October 15.
The LFF statement read, “The Libyan Football Federation condemns the measures taken by the Nigerian Football Federation by refusing to play the Libya-Nigeria match in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers scheduled for Tuesday, October 15, stressing that it will take all legal measures to preserve the interests of the Libyan national football team.”
“The Libyan Federation attaches some inhumane footage that did not prevent the Libyan mission from playing the Nigeria-Libya match last Friday in Nigeria, out of cooperation with the Confederation of African Football.
“The Libyan Football Federation clarifies that its Nigerian counterpart did not cooperate with it in any way, whether regarding the first or second leg match, noting that the events beyond our control do not equal a small part of what the Libyan national team was exposed to in the first leg match,” it said.
The statement further offered an apology to Libyan football fans for the confusion and delays in the match arrangement, attributing these issues to the Nigerian Football Federation’s actions.
“The Libyan Football Federation apologises to Libyan football fans everywhere and to the parties concerned with the match arrangements due to the state of confusion caused by the Nigerian Football Federation, which led to the match not being held on time,” the statement concluded.
