Nigeria have been awarded a 3-0 victory over Libya, and three vital points, from their scheduled Africa Cup of Nations qualifier earlier this month which they refused to play after being stuck in a remote Libyan airport for half a day before the match.
The disciplinary committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Saturday awarded the match to Nigeria 3-0, putting them on the brink of qualifying for next year’s finals as they sit top of Group D.
The three points took Nigeria to 10 with two matches left to play, four ahead of second-placed Benin and five ahead of Rwanda. Libya have a single point from four games and are in last place. The top two teams in the group qualify for the 2025 finals in Morocco.
Nigeria had refused to play the match in Benghazi on Oct. 15, citing mistreatment on arrival in the country some 48 hours before the scheduled kick-off.
Nigerian players and officials were kept in a locked airport for more than 16 hours, almost 250km away from their intended destination, after their charter flight was redirected while on approach to Benghazi and instead landed in Bayda.
They said they had no access to food or water and no contact from Libyan officials during the episode, and they decided to fly back to Nigeria rather than fulfil the fixture.
The Libya Football Federation said the incident was not deliberate, adding that their players had also faced travel difficulties when they played in Nigeria four days earlier.
But CAF found Libya in breach of competition rules that stipulate visiting teams must be properly received by the host association, who must see them through entry formalities and put a bus at their disposal.
CAF said Nigeria were awarded the match with a 3-0 scoreline and that Libya had been fined $50,000.
DetermineDan
95
It's great to see CAF take decisive action to uphold the principles of fair play. Nigeria's players and officials were subjected to unacceptable treatment, and this decision sends a strong message that such behavior will not be tolerated. Well done, CAF!
rawbilmno
50
we treated them the way they treated us … We don’t care about victories we care about our dignity.. Libya Above anything 🇱🇾
juwaciops
14
we treated them the way they treated us … We don’t care about victories we care about our dignity.. Libya Above anything 🇱🇾
This is modern day football not the useless ways you northern African teams behave, did you see the Nigerian team that you mistreated ? You came to Nigeria and we gave you five star treatment off the pitch, on the field you refused to play you only wanted to defend since that didn't work you resorted to barbarism serves you right thats why your team has not won any match in the qualifyers because you're simply not good enough
Wocacdly
13
we treated them the way they treated us … We don’t care about victories we care about our dignity.. Libya Above anything 🇱🇾
You talk about Dignity without elaborating. If Libya had Genuine case of ill treatment when they came to Nigeria. They could have filed an Official Complain to CAF. But failing to do so simply means they were not treated unfairly as being claimed now. This Hostile treatment by North Africans has to be stopped. Only those that has visited North African Countries can bear witness to the level of their inhumane treatment to people from other parts of Africa. At some point,they see themselves as Europeans in Africa,with the believe that they are Superior.
twikista
11
we treated them the way they treated us … We don’t care about victories we care about our dignity.. Libya Above anything 🇱🇾
Since Gaddafi was murdered, all Libyans lost their sense
EmeraldJ
10
we treated them the way they treated us … We don’t care about victories we care about our dignity.. Libya Above anything 🇱🇾
Don't worry, next time you have a match in Nigeria, we will fix it at Ikpeazu stadium Onitsha, near Upper Iweka. We are ready to lose the match 3-0 but una go lose reach una pants
Muzbdeklou
9
my question is, who are the goal scorers?