October 28 – Nigeria have been awarded a 3-0 win over Libya after their flight was diverted ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Benghazi.
Earlier this month, the Nigerians had been due to face Libya in Benghazi but were left stuck at an airport 250 kilometers away in Bayda which led to the match being called off. The Super Eagles called their treatment ‘inhumane’, having to spend 16 hours at the airport, and on Saturday the disciplinary committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) awarded the Super Eagles a 3-0 victory and three points that bring the team closer to qualification for the 2025 continental finals.
The Libyans were also fined $50,000. They had denied foul play in a statement, but CAF found Libya to be in breach of competition rules.
With the three points, Nigeria reached 10 points with two matches remaining in Group D, holding a four-point lead over second-placed Benin and a five-point cushion over Rwanda. Libya trails at the bottom with a single point from four games. The two highest-ranked teams in the group will advance to the 2025 finals in Morocco.
Last week, CAF boss Patrice Motsepe said that the confederation was reviewing rules and regulations to clamp down on the bad treatment of visiting teams.
Motsepe cited incidents during the pandemic saying: “This has been going on for quite a while. I have heard too many stories of a football club or a national team going to a country – you spend hours at an airport and you are asked about documents that don’t exist. During Covid-19 apparently, they’d look at who the best players of your national team were and those ten players, they have got Covid. You reply: ‘We have just been tested.’ ‘No,no, they have got Covid.’ There is this lack of sportsmanship.”
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