BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

The controversy and the waiting is over. The CAF Disciplinary Board has awarded the controversial Match Day 4 of the Africa Cup of Nations between Libya and Nigeria to Nigeria.

The Super Eagles now take firm control of Group D with 10 points and a goal surplus of seven. They are yet to concede any goal in the group.

The CAF statement on the issue reads: “The CAF Disciplinary Board met to deliberate on the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 Qualifier that was scheduled between Libya and Nigeria.

 “The Disciplinary Board decided as follows:

1.    Libya Football Federation was found to have breached Article 31 of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Regulations as well as Articles 82 and 151 of the CAF Disciplinary Code.

2.    The match No.87 Libya v. Nigeria of the TotalEnergies CAF African Cup of Nations Qualifiers 2025 (scheduled to be played on 15 October 2024 in Benghazi) is declared lost by forfeit by Libya (by a score of 3-0).

3.    The Libya Football Federation is ordered to pay a fine of USD 50,000.  The fine is to be paid within 60 days of notification of the present decision.

4.    All other and further motions or prayers for relief are dismissed.

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.

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.”