THE Confederation of African Football (CAF) will announce its decision tomorrow Wednesday 23rd October 2024 regarding the botched Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying Group D match between the Mediterranean Knight of Libya and the Super Eagles of Nigeria, which was supposed to take place at Benina Martyrs Stadium on 15 October 2024.
According to Libya Al-Ahrar Channel, CAF will reveal the final decision concerning the players’ ordeal during the first leg in Nigeria, which ended 1-0 in favour of the Super Eagles, and the reverse fixture that would have taken place in Libya’s first all-seater stadium, with a capacity of 10,550.
The outlet also mentioned that the Libyan Football Federation submitted all necessary documents, with a specialised lawyer assigned to oversee the Libyan file with the CAF.
A day after the cancelled match, CAF removed the fixture from its calendar and announced the cancellation just hours before kick-off, referring the matter to its Disciplinary Committee for further consideration.
In a statement released on Monday, the Libyan Football Federation criticised the actions taken by the Nigerian team for refusing to play against Libya and confirmed its intent to take all legal steps to safeguard the interests of their national team.
Nigeria arrived for the match on 14 October but their flight was redirected to Al Abraq International Airport, which is around three hours by road from Benghazi, the match venue. The Libyan authorities held the Nigerian team for 17 hours, causing them trauma before they eventually returned home.
Nigeria filed a complaint with the CAF, recounting their experience.
Meanwhile, the Libyan Federation claimed that the Nigerian team was uncooperative during both the first and second legs, stating their own experience in Nigeria was far worse during the first leg.
CAF described the situation involving the Nigerian team in Libya as “extremely dangerous.” CAF further stated that it had been in contact with both the Libyan and Nigerian authorities after the Nigerian team was subjected to troubling conditions at the airport for several hours.
The matter has been referred to the Disciplinary Committee to investigate and take appropriate measures against those who breached regulations.
Eighteen-Eleven Media