Africa’s football governing body, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), has sided with Nigeria in the controversy surrounding Libya’s treatment of Nigerian footballers.
The CAF awarded Nigeria a 3-0 victory over Libya following accusations that Libya deliberately breached competition guidelines, a decision that has sparked an appeal from Libya’s football federation.
The CAF’s verdict stems from Libya’s violation of a rule requiring host nations to receive and manage the logistics of visiting teams.
This incident occurred on October 15 when Nigerian players returned home rather than play a qualifying match in Libya, protesting long delays at an airport approximately 250 kilometers away from the venue after their charter flight was unexpectedly diverted. Reports indicate that the players were delayed by around 16 hours.
Nigerian football fan Elvis Ume welcomed the CAF’s decision, stating, “I think justice was served because the truth of the matter is that they genuinely put our players’ lives in danger. It was extremely malicious on their part. In my opinion, they got off lightly. I think CAF could still have been a bit more firm in their decision for it to serve as a deterrent to other countries.”
However, the Libya Football Federation (LFF) denies deliberately trying to dampen the morale of the Nigerian Super Eagles players and has appealed the decision. Libya labels the CAF’s decision unjust and malicious, accusing the Nigerian team of leveraging its players’ European league reputations to garner global support.
The LFF points out that its players faced similar challenges in Nigeria days earlier, arguing that such situations are not unique to African football leagues. Sports analysts note that tactics like immigration delays, lengthy trips, or poor training facilities allocation are common tricks.
Nigerian sports analyst Bunmi Haruna comments, “When you look at antecedents, the North Africans, especially Libya, Morocco, Egypt, they’re known for this ‘gamesmanship.’ I think in Europe they call it the ‘dark act.’ This is the chance for CAF to let the whole world know… it’s not good for our football in any way.”
Haruna emphasizes that the CAF must uphold this standard, adding, “I think it’s a very good step from CAF, and I hope it’s not just going to be a one-off because these things happen even in club football. They want to go and appeal, which is good in terms of testing the laws.”
While Libya’s appeal is unlikely to reverse the CAF’s decision, many will watch the outcome closely. The CAF has ordered Libya to pay a $50,000 fine within 60 days, and the decision puts Nigeria at the top of their division, Group D, contending for a spot at next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco.
