The Nigeria Football Federation said it will fly the national team back home Monday after alleged “inhumane treatment” in Libya ahead of a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. The Nigerian embassy in Libya reportedly cannot intervene as they would need permission to do so from the Libyan government. CAF said they viewed “the disturbing and unacceptable experiences of the Nigerian National Football Team at an airport in Libya in a very serious light”. The statement added that CAF had been in contact with both the Libyan and Nigerian authorities.Horror scenes in Libya as Nigerian stars claim they’re held hostages at airport!?”Players have resolved not to play the match any longer as NFF (the Nigerian federation) officials are making plans to fly the team back home” said NFF director of communications, Ademola Olajire. A formal complaint by Nigeria has been sent to the Confederation of African football (CAF) whose disciplinary board is now investigating the incident.BREAKING: Super Eagles Depart Libya After Hours Of Hostage At Airport pic.twitter.com/VhsF3BSGYv— TVC News (@tvcnewsng) October 14, 2024 According to exhausted Nigerian players, they were “held there as hostages” with no food or drink just over 24 hours before the kick-off. Al-Abraq Airport is about four hours away from Benghazi and the Nigeria squad was left stranded for hours, with several players making staggering claims of mistreatment. The team’s captain, William Troost-Ekong, took to X to show his rage:”12+ hours in an abandoned airport in Libya after our plane was diverted whilst descending. The Libyan government rescinded our approved landing in Benghazi for no reason. They locked the airport gates and left us without a phone connection, food or drink. All to play mind games. I’ve experienced stuff before playing away in Africa, but this is disgraceful behaviour. Even the Tunisian Pilot, who thankfully managed to navigate the last-minute change to an airport not fit for our plane to land, had never seen something like this before” added Troost Ekong. Nigeria defeated Libya 1-0 on Friday, but the visitors complained about ‘poor treatment’ surrounding that game. Ahead of the reverse fixture, they obviously wanted to take revenge, but this is not acceptable.AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS – QUALIFIERSTuesday16.00: (5.00) Chad (3.50) Zambia (1.75)16.00: (6.50) Lesotho (3.60) Gabon (1.60)16.00: (13.0) Malawi (5.70) Senegal (1.25)16.00: (6.25) South Sudan (3.50) Uganda (1.63)16.00: (4.80) Sudan (3.30) Ghana (1.75)16.00: (4.20) Tanzania (3.20) Dr Congo (2.00)19.00: (4.10) Botswana (3.15) Cape Verde (2.05)19.00: (5.50) Congo (3.50) S.Africa (1.70)19.00: (4.40) Guinea B. (3.35) Mali (1.90)19.00: (6.75) Mauritania (3.70) Egypt (1.58)19.00: (5.30) Niger (3.50) Angola (1.73)19.00: (2.95) Rwanda (3.00) Benin (2.65)19.00: (15.0) Sierra Leone (5.90) Ivory Coast (1.23)22.00: (19.0) Cental African Republic (9.50) Morocco (1.12)22.00: (5.50) Comores (3.50) Tunisia (1.70)22.00: (7.75) Ethiopia (3.90) Guinea (1.50)22.00: (8.00) Libya (4.20) Nigeria (1.45)***odds are subject to change***
