Libya FA threatens to drag CAF to CAS for awarding botched AFCON 2025 qualifier to Nigeria
The president of the Libyan Football Association, Nasser Al-Suwaiei, has criticized the decision of the Disciplinary Committee of the African Confederation (CAF), which awarded three points and three goals to Nigeria in the botched 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying game against the Mediterranean Knights of Libya on October 15.
CAF took the decision following Nigeria’s petition over the unsportsmanlike behavior of the Libyans who ‘detained’ the Super Eagles in a local and remote airport for over 15 hours without food, drinks and lack of access to internet facility.
Al-Suwaiei described the decision as “malicious and unjust” in a press statement, saying that CAF took its decsion based on pressure and influence from its Nigerian counterpart.
CAF’s decision came after the Nigerian team withdrew from the match, as the players returned to Abuja after arriving in Libya and staying for more than 13 hours at Al-Abraq airport due to problems with the passport system.
According to reports in the Libyan press, ‘CAF’s Disciplinary Committee decided on Saturday to declare Libya the loss of the 87th match in the AFCON qualifiers against Nigeria, which was scheduled for October 15, 2024, in Benghazi, with a score of 3-0, and the committee ignored the abuse suffered by the Libyan team in Nigeria in the qualifiers for the 2025 African Cup.’
The committee also imposed a fine of US$50,000 and ordered the Libyan Football Association to pay it within 60 days from the date of notification of the decision.
The committee considered that the Libyan federation had violated Article 31 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations regulations, as well as Articles 82 and 151 of the Disciplinary Code.
Al-Suwaie explained that CAF took the decision without fair consideration of the position of the Libyan team, declaring its rejection of the sanction.
Al-Suwaie confirmed that the Libyan federation will appeal the decision within 72 hours, and if it is not accepted, the case will be taken to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland to restore ‘Libya’s legitimate rights.’
