The Confederation of African Football (CAF) will announce its decision on the disrupted AFCON qualifying Group D match between Libya and Nigeria on Wednesday, October 23.
The match was originally scheduled for Benina Martyrs Stadium in Libya on October 15.
Team Nigeria arrived for the match on Sunday, October 14, but their flight was diverted to Al Abraq International Airport, approximately three hours by road from Benghazi, the match venue.
The Libyan authorities held the team for about 17 hours, leaving them traumatized before they returned to their home country.
Nigeria lodged a complaint with CAF regarding their ordeal, while the Libyan Federation claimed that the Nigerians did not cooperate during either leg of the qualifying matches, suggesting that their experience in Nigeria was less challenging compared to what they faced.
CAF described the situation faced by the Nigerian team in Libya as “extremely dangerous,” stating that it had contacted both Libyan and Nigerian authorities after reports emerged of the team’s distressing conditions at the airport.
CAF’s Disciplinary Committee
The incident was referred to CAF’s disciplinary committee for investigation and potential action against those who violated regulations.
Following the incident, CAF delisted the fixture from its calendar and announced its cancellation just hours before kick-off, forwarding the matter to the Disciplinary Committee for review.
According to Libya Al-Ahrar Channel, CAF will reveal its final decision concerning the players’ ordeal during the first leg in Nigeria, which ended 1-0 in favour of the Super Eagles, as well as the reverse fixture that was meant to take place at Libya’s first all-seater stadium, with a capacity of 10,550.
The outlet also reported on Monday, October 21, that the Libyan Football Federation submitted all relevant documents, overseen by a specialised lawyer, to assist in their case with CAF.
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