AFCON Qualifier: Super Eagles to boycott Libya rematch amid “hostage” allegation

In a shocking development, Nigeria’s national men’s football team, the Super Eagles, have announced their decision to withdraw from the return leg match against Libya’s national team.

This drastic move comes after the team was reportedly held hostage for over 14 hours at an abandoned airport in Libya.

According to reports, the Libyan government’s poor treatment of the team led to their prolonged confinement, sparking outrage and frustration among players and staff.

Information made available to Diaspora Digital Media has it that the Super Eagles arrived at the airport expecting standard protocol and logistics.

The team was instead left stranded for over 14 hours without basic amenities.

Players were denied food, water, and access to communication.

Team officials claim Libyan authorities ignored pleas for assistance.

The Nigerian team Captain, William Troost-Ekong, in an Instagram post, vowed that the team will not honour the encounter.

He wrote: “We have kept our spirit up but these are no conditions we will accept when done on purpose.

“Travelling by road is not safe here and you can only imagine how they would treat us in the hotel or the food they will try to give us. It was funny before but as a team we respect ourselves and under these conditions we won’t play.”

The Super Eagles captain continued:

“Even our pilot who is Tunisian who wasn’t locked in like a hostage came
back hours later. He was told in every
nearby hotel they would only accept
him and none of the Nigerian air crew
members. Are we still talking about
international football?”

Also lamenting the team’s woes, lethal forward, Victor Boniface of Bayer Leverkusen of Germany, posted: “been at the airport for almost 13 hours, no food, no wifi, no where to sleep, African we can do better.”

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has denied claims of poor treatment made by Libya.

The NFF insists that the logistical confusion surrounding the Mediterranean Knights’ arrival in Nigeria was caused by the Libyan Football Federation (LFF).

The Super Eagles currently lead Group D with seven points from three matches.

According to Emmanuel Ayanbunmi, NFF’s Assistant Director of Protocol, the LFF notified the NFF of the Libyan team’s arrival in Port Harcourt, rather than Uyo, just three hours before their touchdown on Tuesday.

“I had a detailed conversation with the LFF General Secretary on Monday, October 7, and at no point did he mention the team would be arriving on Tuesday.

“He simply said he would get back to me, but he never did. Late on Monday evening, someone from the LFF advance party informed me that the team would arrive the next day at noon. We had already arranged to receive them in Uyo,” Ayanbunmi explained.

The NFF was only informed an hour before the team’s flight that they would be landing in Port Harcourt instead of Uyo, which caused significant disruption.

Despite the late notice, the NFF quickly secured federal approval to allow the Libyan team’s plane to fly from Port Harcourt to Uyo after completing immigration formalities.

However, Ayanbunmi suggested that the LFF chose to travel by road to Uyo to avoid extra costs from the charter company.

He also clarified that the Libyan delegation opted to hire their own buses instead of using the transportation provided by the NFF.

“If they ended up in non-air-conditioned buses, that’s on them. We provided security escorts, with vehicles and personnel guiding them. So, their complaints and threats don’t concern us.”

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