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.

BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

There is an anxious wait in both Nigeria and Libya as the Confederation of African Football (CAF) is expected to release the findings of its nine-man Disciplinary Board on the Libya – Nigeria botched Africa Cup of Nations qualifying duel earlier this month.

The day coincides with what could have been the 61st birthday of one of Nigeria’s football legends, Rashidi Yekini. The birthday of the nation’s all-time top scorer can only be marked posthumously as he died on 4 May 2012.

He shares the birthday with an even greater legend, the Brazilian Pele who could have been 84 years today. It will be icing on the posthumous birthday of Yekini should the CAF’s ruling swing in Nigeria’s favour.

Already there is great expectations from Nigeria whose football federation’s prayers at the Disciplinary Board is an outright award of the botched match to the Super Eagles.

That will go with three points and three goals to cement the team’s Group D leadership with 10 points. Considering the weight of evidence which weighed heavily against Libya, a possible ban of their home games and fines are very likely.

BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

Former Nigeria Football Federation president and member of the FIFA Council, Amaju Pinnick spoke for Nigeria at the hearing of the Libya – Nigeria case in Addis Ababa on Tuesday.

Libya on the other hand was represented by Abdul Hakim Al-Shalmani, a CAF Executive member and former president of the Libya Football Federation.

Pinnick accused the Libyans of unsportsmanship attitudes toward the Nigerians and the Super Eagles.

His position was supported by a number of delegates among who are Senegalese Augustin Senghor, Cameroonian Seidou Mbombo Njoya, and Sierra Leonean Isha Johansen.

Al-Shalmani, who spoke for Libya along with a private lawyer engaged insinuated that their actions were retaliatory after accusing Nigeria of not treating the Libyans well in the first match in Uyo.

The Libyan Federation also submitted its file explaining the reason for diverting the landing of the Nigerian national team plane at Labraq Airport.

He pointed out that Libya had previously gave warm reception to other African teams using neutral teams of Sudan and Ghana as examples. Sudan had their home matches at Benina Stadium, near Benghazi.

However, the outcome of a confrontation between Ghana and Sudan in Libya had neither direct nor remote connection with Libya’s interest.