Report: Libya Football Federation to appeal CAF ruling of airport delay ordeal in Nigeria’s favour

The Libya Football Federation are preparing to launch an appeal to CAF for the punishment meted out to them after they delayed the Super Eagles players and staff for over fourteen hours at the airport, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Libyans travelled to Nigeria for the first leg of their AFCON 2025 qualifiers against the Super Eagles and lost to Augustine Eguavoen’s team at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, courtesy of a late Fisayo Ayodele-Bashiru strike.

Two days later, the Super Eagles travelled to Libya for the return leg, but had their flight diverted away from their intended destination by Libyan Authorities. They ended up landing at another airport, 300km away from the Benghazi Benina area.

At the Al-Abraq International airport, the Nigerian team were left without food and internet for over fourteen hours, raising eyebrows and concerns about the safety of the players.

The Super Eagles captain, William Troost-Ekong, came out to clear the air after about twelve hours at the airport, mentioning the team has made a decision to not play the game, and they returned home safely, after urging CAF to take the necessary measures to punish the Libya FA for such inhumane act.

As a result, CAF cancelled the AFCON 2025 second leg qualifier between Libya and Nigeria, awarding three goals and three points to the Super Eagles while slamming a $50,000 fine on the Libyans.

As per Brila, that the Libya Football Federation are preparing to contest the ruling, believing it does not accurately reflect the circumstances surrounding the forfeited match. The report indicated that Libya’s appeal is likely to be filed within the stipulated three-day window and will be handled discretely, without media fanfare.

It is also worth noting that the Libya Federation came out to state they did no wrong by keeping the Nigerian team at the airport for over fourteen hours. Instead, they claimed they suffered something similar when they came to play in Uyo.

The specifics of Libya’s appeal strategy remain unclear, but their intent on changing their fortunes as they currently sit bottom of Group D with just one point is evident.

Adefolahan Guerreiro

Adefolahan is a multilingual journalist and writer at Soccernet Nigeria.

With a track record of involvement in College sports, Adefolahan is focused on crafting engaging football content and utilising his language skills and extensive sports knowledge to enhance content accessibility for a global audience.

He has interviewed Nigerian stars like Finidi George, Junior Lokosa, and Abraham Onahi Ogbu.