The Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh, has condemned the reported mistreatment of Nigerian players in Libya.

Enoh, speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, stated that the Federal Government intends to thoroughly investigate the incident.

He emphasized that the Nigerian government is taking the situation seriously, mentioning that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has summoned the Libyan Ambassador to Nigeria.

“I am aware that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had summoned the Libyan Ambassador. The Nigerian government so far has not treated this lightly and is not going to treat this lightly because it must get to the bottom of the matter,” he said.

According to reports, players and officials were stranded for hours at a Libyan airport on Sunday and were denied access to food and the internet as they prepared for their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier with the Mediterranean Knights.

It reportedly took diplomatic efforts and social media outcry for the team to finally be cleared to leave Libya.

Additionally, Enoh accused the Libyan Football Federation of “deliberately” mistreating the Super Eagles during their stay.

“The Port Harcourt Airport where they arrived is one of our best airports. That Port Harcourt Airport, there is no circumstance that will lead to a team having the footballers lie on the floor,” he said, rejecting claims by the Libyan side that their players were mistreated during their previous match in Nigeria.

“All these things were created deliberately to create some make belief. If this was an issue, it should have been made an issue there and then.”

Thomas Tuchel was named England’s new manager on Wednesday, with the German set to start on January 1, 2025.

“The FA has announced that UEFA Champions League winner Thomas Tuchel is the new England senior men’s head coach and will be assisted by internationally renowned English coach Anthony Barry,” the English Football Association said.

More to come…

Credit: AFP

The Libyan Football Federation stated that it won’t tolerate excuses from the Nigeria Football Federation for boycotting the second leg of the Group D 2025 African Cup of Nations qualifier match against the Super Eagles.

This announcement was made on the LFF’s X handle on Tuesday, following the Super Eagles’ departure from Libya after a 16-hour stranded period at Al Abaq Airport due to an unexpected diversion on Sunday. This incident led Nigeria to withdraw from the match initially scheduled for today.

While sharing photos of their players’ training session, the LFF noted:

“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 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.