The President of the Confederation of Africa ( CAF), Patrice Motsepe, has, for the first time, spoken on the Libya vs Nigeria, Africa Cup of Nations Cup ( AFCON) qualifier game.
Patrice Motsepe was speaking in a press conference where he condemned the situation that happened to the Super Eagles of Nigeria at the Libya airport ahead of the AFCON 2025 qualifying match.
Libya vs Nigeria scandal: What did CAF President say?
Patrice Motsepe condemned the incident but insisted that he would not speak on the situation pending when the body reaches a final decision.
"We should have zero tolerance. When there was this problem of the Nigerian national team in Libya, I will not comment on that because there is a proper investigation. But I want to emphasise a principle that we will not tolerate. This is something that has been going on for quite some time. Forget about the Libya vs Nigeria situation; forget about that; appropriate action will be taken. I have heard too many stories about a football club or national team that goes to a country. You spend hours at the airport, and they ask you about documents that don't exist. Apparently, during COVID, they would look at the best players and then say those ten players have got COVID. But it is this lack of sportsmanship that has existed, and we haven't taken effective action. We are reviewing those laws, and we want to emphasise sportsmanship."
Nigeria were scheduled to play against Libya in the return leg of the clash last week Tuesday, October 15, 2024, but opted not to play the game after they were held hostage for over 20 hours at the airport.
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According to reports, the team’s flight to Benghazi, where the match was supposed to take place, was diverted to the small airport away from Benghazi just as the pilot was completing his approach to the Benghazi Airport.
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