The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced the decision on Saturday, putting Nigeria on the verge of qualifying for next year’s finals as they lead Group D.
The Nigerian team faced severe delays after their charter flight was redirected to Bayda instead of Benghazi, resulting in a lack of food, water, and communication with Libyan officials. Frustrated, they opted to return to Nigeria instead of playing.
While the Libya Football Federation stated that the incident was unintentional and noted their own travel difficulties in Nigeria, CAF found Libya in violation of competition rules regarding the treatment of visiting teams. Consequently, Libya has been fined $50,000.
This incident comes after Nigeria won the previous match against Libya 1-0 in Uyo, where the Libyan team also faced significant travel challenges. The situation has drawn criticism across Africa, highlighting the broader issue of poor treatment of visiting teams. CAF President Patrice Motsepe has indicated a commitment to tightening regulations to address these concerns.
With the three points, Nigeria now has 10 points from four matches, four ahead of second-placed Benin and five ahead of Rwanda. Libya sits at the bottom of the group with just one point. The top two teams in the group will qualify for the 2025 finals in Morocco.
