By Damilare Adeleye
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has begun a proper investigation into the alleged maltreatment of players and coaches of the Nigerian National Football Team, Super Eagles in Libya.
The Nigerian team was stranded for over 13 hours in Libya after the host country’s government deliberately disrupted their travel plans.
This made the players with the approval of the Nigerian Football Federation decide to withdraw from playing their upcoming African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying match against Libya.
The team consisting the players and the coaches are currently on their way back to Nigeria after they boarded their Valuejet chartered plane on Monday afternoon.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a post on X said, “Latest update: The Super Eagles have left Libya. They are now airborne, on the way to Abuja, says Minister of Sports, Senator John Owan Enoh.”
Reacting to these developments, the Libyan Football Federation had said that it did not make public accusations nor question the integrity of the Nigerian authorities despite the difficulties their team encountered last week.
It stated this on Monday while explaining the circumstances surrounding the Nigerian Super Eagles’ hours-delay at Al Abraq International Airport, noting that the diversion of the team’s flight was not intended as a hostile act.
Meanwhile, the African top football governing body, described what Nigerian players and their officials experienced in Libya as ‘unacceptable’.The body, therefore, in a statement issued on Monday, promised to impartially investigate the matter and punish any party found guilty of breaching its regulations.
The statement read: “CAF views the disturbing and unacceptable experiences of the Nigerian National Football Team (“Super Eagles”) at an airport in Libya in a very serious light.
“The Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF) has been in contact with the Libyan and Nigerian authorities after it had been informed that the Nigerian National Football Team (“Super Eagles”) and their technical team were stranded in disturbing conditions for several hours at an airport that they were allegedly instructed to land by the Libyan authorities.
“The matter has been referred to the CAF Disciplinary Board for investigation and appropriate action will be taken against those who violated the CAF Statutes and Regulations.“
