Libya threatens legal action over Nigeria\u2019s withdrawal from AFCON qualifier<\/p>\n
The Libyan Football Federation has condemned Nigeria\u2019s decision to withdraw from the scheduled 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Libya, threatening to take legal action to protect its national team\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n
The Super Eagles cited safety concerns after being stranded at Al Abaq Airport for over 13 hours following an unexpected diversion on Sunday, prompting Nigeria to pull out of the match, initially set for Tuesday, October 15.<\/p>\n
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In its statement shared by The Libya Observer, the LFF accused the Nigerian Football Federation of failing to cooperate in organising the match and causing the confusion that led to the current situation.<\/p>\n
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The statement read, \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The LFF also mentioned that the incidents beyond its control could not be compared to what the Libyan team experienced in the first leg, suggesting that the Nigerian federation was responsible for the mishandling of both the initial and return legs.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe 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,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
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The statement further offered an apology to Libyan football fans for the confusion and delays in the match arrangement, attributing these issues to the Nigerian Football Federation\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe 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,\u201d the statement concluded.<\/p>\n
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The controversy erupted after photos of the Super Eagles team sleeping on benches went viral early Monday, prompting condemnation from Nigerian authorities.<\/p>\n
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The situation worsened as the players, pilots, and other personnel were stranded at the Libyan airport for over 13 hours without access to necessities like food, water, or a place to rest.<\/p>\n
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The Super Eagles captain, William Troost-Ekong, described the conditions at Al Abraq Airport as \u201cdisgraceful,\u201d accusing Libyan authorities of deliberately playing \u201cmind games\u201d by revoking their landing permit and leaving the team stranded without basic\u00a0amenities.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Libya threatens legal action over Nigeria\u2019s withdrawal from AFCON qualifier The Libyan Football Federation has condemned Nigeria\u2019s decision to withdraw from the scheduled 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Libya, threatening to take legal action to protect its national team\u2019s interests. The Super Eagles cited safety concerns after being stranded at Al Abaq Airport […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":145088,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,18,21],"tags":[638,610,157],"class_list":{"0":"post-145111","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured","8":"category-news","9":"category-sports","10":"tag-libya","11":"tag-nff","12":"tag-nigeria"},"yoast_head":"\n