The Confederation of African Football (CAF) Disciplinary Board for investigation will take appropriate action against those who violated the CAF Statutes and regulations, after Nigeria boycotted their second leg of Afcon qualifier against Libya, in Benghazi on Monday.
The Super Eagles were allegedly held at an abandoned Al Abraq International Airport on Sunday night and were meant to travel by road to the match venue in Benina, South of the Libyan Capital, Tripoli.
Trouble started after the Nigerian’s charter plane set for Benghazi was diverted to Al Abraq, without any explanation from the Libyan authorities.
Things escalated when they were left unattended for 17 hours before being offered substandard buses to the match venue, which they declined owing to security reasons.
Having launched a formal complaint with CAF, NFF director of communications Ademola Olajide made plans to fly the team back home, after unanimously deciding to boycott the match regardless of the consequences.
Upon landing in Super Eagles, captain William Troost Ekong said he was Proud of the team, and the Naija spirit that can’t be broken.
He further added that football is about respect, and it starts by respecting themselves first.
“Throw at us what you want, it’s in our blood to overcome. I’ve seen a lot in my 10 years with this group, but nothing like this, an experience that has brought us even closer together. We will be following up with CAF on the verdict, as we prepare for the November qualifiers,” said Ekong via a video on his X page.
Former African footballer of the year Victor Ikpeba, who accompanied the team to Libya has urged for stiff sanctions against Libya and supported the decision to boycott the match.
"If Caf knows their job, Libya ought to be banned from international football. This is a high-risk country and one really wonders who approved for Libya to be playing their games at home,” Ikpeba said to Super Sport.
Meanwhile, Olajide refuted claims by the Libyans that they were equally mistreated in the first leg on Friday.
He said Nigeria is a footballing nation that never mistreats players and always gives them first priority.
"We gave them security and nice training grounds."
“The Libyans were supposed to land in Eyo, but decided to land in Port Harcourt only to call the NFF an hour later claiming they were in Harcourt before arrangements were made to ensure they reached Eyo safely.”
However, Kenyans may have a contrary opinion after Harambee stars were mistreated by the Nigerians during their World Cup qualifier in 2013.
According to the head of the delegation Hussein Terry, the person assigned to receive them left them stranded after he switched off his phone.
They never saw a chartered plane promised from Lagos to Calabar, but were instead met by a bus driver who didn’t have instructions on where to take them.
The team was mishandled and booked in a substandard hotel.
They also trained in a primary school after failing to get a standard pitch. Stars pulled a surprise 1-1 draw in Calabar despite the problems encountered.
The Libyan FA in an official statement claims the Nigerians failed to cooperate leading to the abandonment of the match. With CAF investigations ongoing, a possible sanction or a big fine or ban on the offender looms.
Nigeria who beat the Libyans 1-0 in the reverse fixture on Friday last week lead pool D with 7 points from three matches.
Benin who faces Rwanda in Kigali tonight are second with six points, Rwanda is third with two points while Libya languishes at the bottom with one point.