Libyan authorities held Super Eagles players and officials hostage at the Al Abaq airport in Al Abaq, ahead of Tuesday’s AFCON 2025 qualifiers in Benghazi.
This was revealed by Super Eagles media team.
In a video posted on the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) TV, players and officials of the Super Eagles together with their luggages were held down by Libyan officials at the airport.
According to the media team, about an hour to landing, the Nigerian aircraft approaching its destination, Benghazi, was diverted to another city which is more than two hour drive from the original destination.
The shabby treatment handed to the Super Eagles and officials is not unconnected to claims made by Libya that they were not treated well when they came to Nigeria for the first leg of the AFCON 2025 qualifiers in Uyo on Friday.
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A publication, Libyan Observer, claimed that players and officials of the Mediterranean Knights poorly received by the NFF representatives, as they remained for more than three hours at the airport, waiting for the bus that would take them to the hotel in Uyo, which is 200 kilometers away from the airport, in difficult and exhausting transportation conditions for the delegation.
According to the publication, the delegation was seen sitting on the ground waiting for the bus, before three small buses were provided, which transported them in difficult conditions in the middle of the forests and stops along the way.
It stated that the Libyan delegation arrived Uyo late Tuesday evening after an arduous journey that took five and a half hours.
It explained that although the national team delegation traveled by private plane, and could have landed at the airport in Uyo, but the insistence of the authorities in Nigeria to land at Lagos airport caused the problem.
It also claimed that the private car, which carried training clothes, match clothes and food, was stolen, as the driver changed his destination without anyone noticing him, which led the Nigerian security to open an investigation to arrest him.
In the first leg in Uyo, the Eagles claimed a 1-0 win courtesy a late goal by Fisayo Dele-Bashiru.
The win saw the Eagles, on seven points, lead the Group D while Libya are bottom with just one point.
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Source: www.completesports.com
