World football woke up on Monday morning to the despicable act by Libya when they ‘held hostage’ Super Eagles players and their technical team including other members of the delegation to the reverse fixture of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations for more than 20 hours.
The heinous act was committed with the connivance of their government that diverted the plane that has commenced its landing proceedings from Benina airport to an unused Al Abraq airport, 300km (about 150 miles) away from Benghazi, venue of the match.
To add insult to injury, the Libya Football Association justified this barbaric act on the premise that their players were subjected to same treatment by Nigeria when they came for the first leg game in Uyo, four days earlier.
I will try to relay the 20 hours ordeal the players and their technical crew including other members of the contingent were subjected to in Libya for the sake of those who were not abreast of it.
Super Eagles were expected to fly to Bengazhi for the reverse fixture against Libya. But their plane was forcefully diverted to Al-Abraq airport instead with about an hour to landing.
Before the team left Nigeria on Sunday, their travel plan was to land at the Benina airport since the match was billed for Benghazi. For no justifiable reason, the plane that has commenced its descent to Benina airport was forcefully diverted to Al-Abraq (300km) despite protests from the pilot that he was low on fuel.
“When I asked to land in Benghazi according to my flight plan and according to my authorisation, they said no, it’s from the highest authority, you have to land in Al-Abraq,” said the pilot in video message.
“I asked them several times, at least eight times, and I warned them, probably I will be in trouble for fuel; they said it’s from highest authority, you cannot land in Benghazi, you have to divert immediately to Al-Abraq.
“The truth was we were going to Benghazi, and I can show you the evidence of the approval, I have it. But at the last minute, they changed their mind and changed the airport.
“There is no ILS (Instrument Landing System), no air navigation approach, no VHR (VHF Omnidirectional Range). We had to make a visual landing, which is particularly difficult by night with marginal weather.
“It was not an easy matter at all. When a pilot hears this, he will understand that it was not an easy thing to land under such conditions. Thank God we made it safely.”
The pilot also revealed that was helped him in landing was because he had worked at the airport for two years in the past, saying that he has a mental picture of the airport.
Imagine if the plane has crashed for lack of fuel or for the inability of the pilot to land safely at the Al-Abraq airport, will Libya own up? Will they not try as much as possible to conceal any incriminating evidence by searching for the black box and throw it away? African football would have to mourn death of a generation of Nigerian players due to a deliberate plot by Libya to win a match at all cost.
The hideous part of their plot was enacted after the plane successfully landed. This was the time the Libyan unleashed their despicable act on the Nigerians by locking the players at the airport terminal for up to 20 hours. The Tunisian pilot was also not spared as he and his crew members were denied accommodation, having to sleep in the plane alongside his crew members.
The players and technical crew including other members of the contingent were not only denied access into town, they were also denied water, food, accommodation and wifi when they were held ‘hostage’. They were left at the airport terminal under lock and key, with the players sleeping on the iron chairs. How can you subject your guests to such an inhuman treatment with many of the players afraid of their lives?
” Earlier on Monday William Troost- Ekong went into even greater detail with a lengthy thread on X: “12+ hours in an abandoned airport in Lybia after our plane was diverted whilst descending. Lybian government rescinded our approved landing in Benghazi with no reason. They’ve locked the airport gates and left us without phone connection, food or drink. All to play mind games.
“I’ve experienced stuff before playing away in Africa but this is disgraceful behaviour. Even the Tunisian Pilot who thankfully managed to navigate the last minute change to an airport not fit for our plane to land had never seen something like this before.
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“Upon arrival he tried to find a nearby airport to rest with his crew to be denied at every hotel again under Government instruction. He could sleep there but NO NIGERIAN crew members allowed. They have returned to now sleep on the plane, which is parked up.
“At this point we have called for our Nigerian Government to intervene and rescue us. As the captain together with the team we have decided that we will NOT play this game. CAF should look at the report and what is happening here.
“I REITERATE: We would NEVER treat a guest nation for a game in this way. Mistakes happen, delays happen. But never on purpose!
“We are waiting to see what will be the follow-up and whatever the consequences are. We will be ready to continue our journey to AFCON 2025 in November.”
In a tweet directed at governing body CAF, Victor Boniface, the Bayer Leverkusen forward, wrote: “Been at the airport for almost 13 hours no food no wifi nowhere to sleep African we can do better.”
Wilfred Ndidi in his own account wrote on his instagram thus, “I’m scared for our lives.”
The Confederation African Football equally acknowledged Libya’s despicable act when the continental football governing body expressed disgust at the treatment meted out to the Super Eagles in its first official statement, describing their treatment as “disturbing and unacceptable.”
“CAF views the disturbing and unacceptable experiences of the Nigerian National Football Team (“Super Eagles”) at an airport in Libya in a very serious light,” also stating that it viewed their plight “in a very serious light.”
CAF stated that it contacted both Nigeria and Libya football authorities after it was informed that the Super Eagles and their technical team “were stranded in disturbing conditions for several hours at an airport that they were alleged instructed to land by the Libyan authorities, noting that the matter has been referred to its disciplinary board for investigation.
“The matter has been referred to the CAF Disciplinary Board for investigation and appropriate action will be taken against those who violated the CAF Statutes and Regulations.”
Now that CAF has given Libya till this weekend to respond to the allegation against them, I believe this is an opportunity for the body to end this despicable act in African football. CAF should seize the opportunity this crisis presented ‘to lay down a marker’ in African football against unwholesome attitude of home teams deploying in other to win games at all cost.
There have been uncounted stories of football clubs in Libya subjected to such inhuman treatment. Libya is notorious for this. Enyimba, Rivers United left Libya in their CAF club football with uncountable tales of woes. Rwanda national team was also not spared of this despicable act during the first leg of their 2025 AFCON qualifier last September.
With the world media feasting on this show of shame by Libya, the only way CAF can convince FIFA, UEFA and other football stakeholders that this aberration will never rear its ugly head again anywhere in the continent is by coming hard on Libya.
The most nauseating of this despicable act is Libya stating that they also suffered safe fate while in Nigeria for the first leg. For the sake of this column, let assume their allegation was true. In football do you retaliate, when you retaliate, what you get is straight red card. Rather than take their case to CAF, they decided to take the law into their hand.
There are no justifiable reasons for what happened to Super Eagles in Libya. What if the plane had crashed after it was forcefully diverted, will Libya own up? Imagine the families of those on board that will be thrown into mourning? What of the families who would have lost their livelihood if such catastrophe had occurred?
A slap on the wrist punishment will do more harm than good for African football.
It will be tantamount to kid glove punishment if CAF orders a replay of the match on a neutral ground or awards the match to Nigeria and fine Libya.
What would serve, as a deterrent in my own opinion, is if Libya is suspended from football for at least two years. By this any country contemplating such a hideous act in the win at all cost syndrome will have to think twice before acting, realizing the gravity of their punishment if caught.
