Libya Threatens Legal Action Against Nigeria For Pulling Out Of Nations Cup Qualifiers

…CAF Delists AFCON Match Between Nigeria, Libya

The Libyan Football Federation has slammed Nigeria’s decision to opt out of the Nations Cup qualifier in Libya, threatening to seek legal redress.

Nigeria withdrew from the game due to security reasons after their travelling delegation was delayed for over 17 hours at the Al Abaq Airport on Monday, which sparked widespread outrage.

The match was initially set to be held on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, before the Super Eagles opted out of the game to return to Nigeria on Monday night.

The Libya team posted pictures of their players preparing for the match on social media on Tuesday morning.

The Libya Football Federation has criticised the Nigeria Football Federation for failing to cooperate in organising the match, and they are also prepared to take legal action to protect their interest in a statement published in The Libya Observer.

The statement reads, “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 LBF also blamed the Nigeria Football Federation for the poor treatment in the first and second 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.

“We apologise to Libyan football fans everywhere and to the parties concerned with the match arrangements due to the state of confusion caused by the Nigerian Football Federation, which led to the match not being held on time.”

Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football, CAF has delisted the encounter between Libya and Nigeria.

The Group D second-leg fixture of the ongoing 2025 African Cup of Nations was initially scheduled to be played on Tuesday before Nigeria pulled out due to do security concerns.

CAF shared the fixtures of the Nations Cup qualifiers matches on their X account but omitted the encounter, which has generated controversy.

The Super Eagles won the first leg 1-0 at the Godswil Akpabio Stadium on Friday thanks to a late goal from Fisayo Dele-Bashiru.

Nigeria currently tops Group D with seven points, one above Benin Republic.