The Libyan Football Federation, LFF has issued a statement condemning the actions of the Nigerian football team, the Super Eagles, who have currently withdrawn from playing the AFCON qualifier match against Libya which was scheduled for today, Tuesday, October 15th, 2024.
They have also threatened to take legal action following the incident, saying that it is their duty to protect the national team’s interest.
The Super Eagles had decided to boycott the match following their subpar treatment by the Libyan officials. The team had initially arrived in Libya to play the second leg of the qualifier match against the Libyan team but were left stranded for over 15+ hours without food, water, or a place to rest inside a Libyan airport.
They were finally able to leave Monday evening after the NFF sent a plane to pick them up following an outcry from Nigerians. And by leaving the country Libya, they had decided to boycott the match which was scheduled for the next day.
However, the LFF released a statement on Monday Night, October 14, accusing the NFF of failing to cooperate in organizing the match, even blaming the Nigerian Football Federation for causing the confusion that led to the current situation.
They claim that the Libyan team had also suffered from “incidents beyond control,” and had still played in the first leg, hence the Nigerian team had no excuse.
The statement read;
“The Libyan Football Federation condemns the measures taken by the Nigerian Football Federation by refusing to play the Libya-Nigeria match in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers scheduled for Tuesday, October 15, stressing that it will take all legal measures to preserve the interests of the Libyan national football team.”
“The Libyan Federation attaches some inhumane footage that did not prevent the Libyan mission from playing the Nigeria-Libya match last Friday in Nigeria, out of cooperation with the Confederation of African Football.
“The Libyan Football Federation clarifies that its Nigerian counterpart did not cooperate with it in any way, whether regarding the first or second leg match, noting that the events beyond our control do not equal a small part of what the Libyan national team was exposed to in the first leg match,” it said.
“The Libyan Football Federation apologises to Libyan football fans everywhere and to the parties concerned with the match arrangements due to the state of confusion caused by the Nigerian Football Federation, which led to the match not being held on time,” the statement concluded.
