- Safiu Kehinde
The Libyan Football Federation has threatened to take legal actions against the Super Eagles over the boycott of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) return leg match slated to hold today.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Libyan FA on Monday following the return of the Super Eagles to Nigeria.
According to the statement, the Libyan FA claimed they were subject to ill-treatment during the first leg in Nigeria which they alleged was beyond what the Super Eagles faced which was a situation beyond their control.
“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 Nigeria counterpart did not cooperate with it in any way, whether regarding the first or second leg match, noting that the events beyond our control did not equal what the Libyan national team was exposed to in the first leg match.
“The Libyan Football Federation apologizes 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 read.
Meanwhile, recall that the Nigerian national team had, on Saturday, arrived at the North African country ahead of the Tuesday’s match.
They were however subjected to ill-treatment after their plane was diverted from the supposed airport they were meant to land to a deserted airport far away from the stadium where the match was slated to hold.
The team’s captain, William Troost-Ekong raised alarm on X over their maltreatment by the Libyan authorities which led to several reactions and eventual altercations between football governing bodies from both countries.
Despite holding the Nigerian National team hosted for over 20 hours at the airport, the Libyan Football Federation condemned the boycott of the match by the Super Eagles as they claimed to have suffered similar fate during the first leg of their encounter in Nigeria.
They have, however, vowed to take legal actions against the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF).
Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has commenced Investigation over the reported incident.