The Libyan Football Federation has said that it will not condone excuses from the Nigeria Football Federation to boycott the second leg of the Group D 2025 African Cup of Nations qualifier tie against the Super Eagles.
The LFF disclosed this on its X handle on Tuesday after the Super Eagles and its officials departed Libya after being stranded at Al Abaq Airport for over 16 hours following an unexpected diversion on Sunday, prompting Nigeria to pull out of the match, initially set for today.
Sharing several photos of their players’ training session, LFF wrote, “Some may be used to putting up obstacles before the match, but here in the heart of Benghazi, specifically on the grounds of the Martyrs of Benina Stadium, there is no room for excuses after the starting whistle.
“Photos from our national team’s training at the Martyrs of Benina International Stadium, in preparation for the match against Nigeria on Tuesday evening, as part of the fourth round of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.”
Recall that the LFF has condemned Nigeria’s decision to withdraw from the scheduled 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Libya, threatening to take legal action to protect its national team’s interests.
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.
The statement read, “The 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.”
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.
“The 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.
“The 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,” it said. (Punch)
