AFCON: Investigation ongoing on Nigeria-Libya incident, says CAF president

Following the current issue surrounding Nigeria's AFCON qualifier versus Libya, Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football, has stated that a thorough investigation is still underway.

Additionally, the president stressed that any lack of sportsmanship in African football will not be tolerated by the confederation.

Motsepe addressed the challenging circumstances the Nigerian national team encountered during their travel to Libya, which sparked worries about player safety and equitable treatment, at a news conference held Tuesday following the 46th Ordinary General Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Recall that Nigeria faced a number of difficulties on their trip to Libya for their important AFCON qualifier, including flight redirection, an 18-hour wait at the airport, and logistical issues that hampered the team's preparation.

A few athletes, such as Team captain Troost Ekong and Victor Osimhen, expressed dismay over the situation, with Super Eagles defender Kenneth Omeruo calling the decision to play in Libya “terrible” due to the ongoing instability in the country.
Motsepe stated that the matter is being investigated but refrained from making any direct remarks regarding the Nigeria-Libya situation.

"I won't comment on that because there is a proper investigation," he said, referring to the issue that arose with the Nigerian national team in Libya. However, since this has been going on for a while, I want to highlight a concept that we will not allow.

"Let me stress, your national team, put the Nigeria and Libya situation out of your mind. That process has been thoroughly examined, and the proper action will be taken."

He added that visiting teams are occasionally treated unfairly in African football, where such problems have been recurrent.

"There are far too many tales of national teams or football teams travelling to a nation and spending hours at the airport being questioned about documents that aren't there," Motsepe said.

In his speech, the CAF President highlighted the value of treating visiting teams with dignity and respect, citing the idea of competition fairness.

But let me reiterate: "We are proud of those countries that treat visiting national teams and football clubs with the respect and dignity they deserve." "But it's this lack of sportsmanship that has existed and we haven't taken effective action," he continued.

Additionally, Motsepe emphasised that CAF is examining its rules and would implement more stringent steps to guarantee that occurrences like as the one involving Nigeria in Libya do not recur.
He added that sportsmanship is still a fundamental principle in African football and that "we will take action if there are violations of those regulations and those rules."