Libyan footballer gives reason for Super Eagles’ airport hostage ordeal

• The Super Eagles were held hostage for about 16 hours at Al Abraq International Airport in Libya
• CAF postponed the matcha and referred the incident to its disciplinary committee for an investigation
• A Libyan footballer has indicated his country but explained why they treated the Nigerians that way

A Libyan footballer may have unknowingly indicted his country of wrongdoings after they held the Super Eagles of Nigeria hostage at Al Abraq International Airport.

Nigerian players travelled to North Africa to honour the AFCON 2025 qualifier second leg match, but the game did not happen due to the inhumane incident.

The team’s flight, originally planned to land in Benghazi, was redirected to Al Abraq a few minutes before landing, where they were left unattended for almost a day.

Libyan star admits retaliation

Libyan footballer Moatasem Al-Musrati’s statement on the saga may have indicted his country of wrongdoings in the Super Eagles’ ordeal at Al Abraq.

Al-Musrati released a statement on his Facebook page, explaining why the incident happened, a section of which confirmed that the Libyan’s actions were intentional.

“The full truth of what happened is that this is a normal and logical result according to what had happened to the Libyan National team when they went to play the first leg match in Nigeria,” he wrote.

“Libyan players were held for hours in the Airport for no reason and then were thrown in malfunctioning busses. They were driven in those buses for three hours to arrive in an area with high military tension.”

“What happened here was a reaction to the horrible treatment that our players had to endure, nothing more!” he added.

The Besiktas star also accused the European media of bias, claiming they kept quiet on the Mediterranean Knights’s experience but let the Super Eagles stars’ popularity influence them.

According to Score Nigeria, CAF’s verdict on the incident is expected on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, when the organisation meets.

Libyan chief calls for harsh measures

Legit.ng reported that a Libyan football chief called for harsh measures against those responsible for mistreating the Super Eagles of Nigeria at Al Abraq Airport.

The former president of Al Dhahra Al-Siddiq Abu Dhabi called for internal prosecution over the incident, opposing the views held by many in the country.

Source: Legit.ng