After the difficult ordeal, the Nigerians, in a way, won their case. The disciplinary commission of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) declared the Super Eagles winners on the green carpet (3-0) of the match which never took place against Libya.
The game should have been held in mid-October, but the Nigerian players were held up at an airport in Al Abaq.
Deprived of water and food, Moses Simon and his teammates refused to play the game. Thanks to these 3 points acquired without sweating, but not without suffering, the Nigerian selection now has 10 points, or 4 more than Benin, runner-up in Group D, two days before the end of this qualifying round for the African Cup of Nations (CAN) 2025.
$50,000 fine
For their part, the Libyans remain in last position, with their only point. On the other hand, the Libyan football federation was ordered by CAF to pay a fine of 50,000 dollars. As a reminder, the Super Eagles were stranded in an abandoned airport after their flight was diverted.
“When we arrived, there was no one there. They ended up telling us that we were going to have to sleep there. The Federation had managed to find us a hotel, but it was forbidden for Nigerians! We stayed there, without bed, food or water, in the middle of mosquitoes,” Simon, the FC Nantes winger, told L’Équipe.
