AFCON
Fear of likely match forfeiture grips Libya as they blame ValueJet Pilot as possible clincher for Nigeria
There is palpable fear in Libya as CAF Disciplinary Board prepare to release its findings on the botched Libya – Nigeria Africa Cup qualification match.
The whole episode arose from the sudden diversion of the aircraft carrying the Nigerian team.
It was thereafter that the hostage episode unfolded as the team was kept in custody for 20 hours without access to either water or food and had to sleep on chairs and bare floor.
The video evidence of the pilot, Captain, Abdellatif Merchergui, a Tunisian has put the Libyan authorities in a bad position.
According to the latest reports from Libya Akhbar, the delay of the Nigerian team at the airport was blamed on “problems with the passport system.”
It is reported that CAF has finished “hearing the testimony of a Tunisian pilot, who was the captain of the Nigerian national team plane on its flight…”
Quoting from the video, Libya Akhbar reports verbatim, the pilot’s comments: “He said in a video recording: “The flight plan was to land at Benghazi as our destination and we got approval from the Libyan authorities to land there but unfortunately when we were close we were told to divert to another airport about 300 kilometres away from our destination”
“It is not a good thing because in aviation we have a flight plan and we calculate how much fuel will take us through so we have to avoid such problems because they may hinder our safety.”
The Tunisian pilot concluded his speech by saying: “In aviation, we cannot hide anything. I asked the civil aviation in Libya at least eight times, but they repeated the same thing, saying that we cannot land there.
“Thank God we arrived and landed safely. We have all the evidence, and it is well documented.”
The Libyan Football Association officials submitted to the Disciplinary Committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) all documents related to air navigation and the technical reasons that led to changing the flight path from Labraq Airport instead of Benina Airport in the city of Benghazi.
AFCON
Libyan CAF Exco member laments the heavy presence of Nigerian witnesses at botched match hearing
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Abdul Hakim Al-Shalmani, a Libyan member of the CAF Executive Committee has lamented that the Libyans did not present strong evidence at the CAF hearing of the controversy-ridden Libya-Nigeria match.
According to a statement he made in the Libyan publication, Libya Akhbar, Al-Shalmani remarked that the trial scenereflected the great disparity in support provided to the two contesting teams.
He pointed out that more than 20 people represented the Nigerian team in the case, including the Minister of Sports, members of the Nigerian Parliament, and other prominent figures.
On the other hand, Al-Shalmani expressed his dissatisfaction with the absence of any official Libyan support, as he found himself alone in representing Libya in this case, which he described as “national. ” He expressed his disappointment at the Libyan officials’ neglect of this vital file.
Al-Shalmani stressed: “While I was representing Libya alone, this issue was supposed to be an opportunity to unite ranks and support the homeland. It is unreasonable for me to address the responsible authorities individually without having an official position that would enable me to do so. This is an issue that affects Libya’s dignity and sporting reputation and requires everyone’s intervention.”
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Libya’s CAF Exco member, Abdul Hakim Al-Shalmani has voiced out his disappointment over the testimony of the pilot who flew the ValuJet aircraft that took the Nigerian delegation to the botched Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match earlier this October.
Libya’s CAF Exco member, Abdul Hakim Al-Shalmani has threatened to sue ValueJet pilot for giving evidence in Nigeria’s favour
Captain, Abdellatif Merchergui, a Tunisian pilot who flew the ValueJet aircraft was a key witness Nigeria presented at the hearing of the episode.
He is the Acting Head of Flight Operation at ValueJet.
Al-Shalmani who is not an aviation expert, described Merchergui’s testimony as “false and slanderous,” noting that the pilot provided testimony that served his Nigeria’s interests “instead of adhering to diplomatic relations between the two neighbouring countries of Libya and Tunisia.”
He has threatened to follow-up with legal action against Merchergui, as an official memorandum of complaint will be filed against the Tunisian pilot who, according to Al-Shalmani, “violated the rules of integrity and honesty.”
He also claimed that Nigeria latched on the fame of its star-studded squad to sway global support for the Super Eagles.
According to Libya Akhbar publication, Al-Shalmani pointed out that the Nigerian team exploited the fame of its professional players in international leagues to create the impression that they were victims of Libyan attacks or conspiracies.
Despite this media pressure, Al-Shalmani expressed his denunciation of this strategy, stressing that the facts on the ground are completely different from those that the Nigerian team is trying to present. He added: “What the Nigerians are trying to portray as injustice on our part is in fact an attempt to cover up the truth, as the testimony presented was completely false.”
KUNLE SOLAJA.
As both Nigeria and Tunisia await the verdict of CAF over the Africa Cup of Nations’ qualifying match which failed to be held last 15 October in Benina, Libya, the two contesting countries are depending on Tunisians to get favourable verdict.
Libya engaged a Tunisian lawyer. Nigeria in turn presented as key witness, the Tunisian pilot who was the captain of the ValueJet aircraft that conveyed the Super Eagles to Libya.
Sports Village Square gathered that CAF listened to the Libyan and Nigerian sides via Zoom, specifying its questions about the plane landing at Labraq Airport and the reasons for diverting it from Benina Airport.
The Libyan Football Federation, through Secretary General Nasser Al-Suwai’i, Assistant Secretary General Mohamed Qrimida, and the Tunisian lawyer, presented the technical reasons related to air navigation.
Nigeria on the other hand, presented the plane’s captain, Abdellatif Merchergui, a Tunisian, as a witness to the incident. He is the Acting Head of Flight Operation at ValueJet and he piloted the aircraft.
He offered the details that preceded the plane’s landing in Al-Abraq and his contact with the navigation control tower at Benina Airport.
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