The Libyan Football Federation has condemned Nigeria’s decision to withdraw from the scheduled 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier and has threatened to take legal action to protect its national team’s interests.
The Super Eagles cited safety concerns after being stranded at Al Abaq Airport for over 13 hours following an unexpected diversion on Sunday. This prompted Nigeria to pull out of the match, which was initially set for Tuesday, October 15.
In a statement shared by The Libya Observer, the LFF accused the Nigerian Football Federation of failing to cooperate in organizing 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. It noted 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.
