The Confederation of African Football announced the cancellation of the national team’s match against its Nigerian counterpart, scheduled for Tuesday at the Benina International Stadium in Benghazi.
According to the decision of the African Union, the match file between the two teams will be referred to the Disciplinary Committee for consideration.
The Confederation will also issue its decision regarding the match on October 22 at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the African Confederation, which will be held in Ethiopia.
In its statement on Monday, the Libyan Football Association denounced the actions taken by the Nigerian side regarding the team’s refusal to play its match against Libya, which was scheduled for Tuesday.
The Federation confirmed that it will take all legal measures to preserve the interests of the first national football team.
The Libyan Federation said that the Nigerian delegation did not cooperate with Libya in any way, whether in the first leg or the return match, noting that the events beyond its control are not equivalent to a small part of what the Libyan national team was exposed to in the first leg, according to the statement.
The federation included some inhumane positions with its statement that did not prevent the delegation from playing the match against Nigeria on its soil, out of cooperation with the Confederation of African Football, she said.
The Confederation of African Football described what the Nigerian national team was exposed to at the Libyan airport as “extremely dangerous,” noting that it was in contact with the Libyan and Nigerian authorities after being informed that the latter had been exposed to disturbing conditions for hours inside the airport.
CAF referred the matter to the Federation’s Disciplinary Committee to investigate and take appropriate measures against those who violated the statute and regulations, according to the statement.
The Libyan national team’s delegation in the first leg of the round had previously experienced difficulties during its trip to Nigeria, including waiting for long hours at Abuja International Airport without an official reception, and delays in the buses designated to transport the players to the hotel.
The mission also headed to the Nigerian city of Uyo by land in difficult circumstances, amid the authorities’ refusal to return the national team by land, due to what they called the security conditions, she said, asking officials to coordinate the return by air to Abuja and then to Libya, which delayed the return of the players to Next Sunday, because there are no planes available at the airport.
Source: Libyan and Nigerian Football Federations