The Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) have been urged by former senator Shehu Sani to impose sanctions on Libya for their treatment of the Super Eagles football team.
The team’s flight was diverted to a distant airstrip, leaving them detained in Libya for more than 13 hours without proper supplies.
In a Monday post on his X platform (previously Twitter), Sani responded to the national team’s suffering in Libya by pleading with FIFA and CAF to take action.
“Libya’s treatment of the @NGSuperEagles is unacceptable and condemnable,” the man tweeted. Significant penalties must be applied to them by @FIFAcom and @CAF_Online.”
The Super Eagles’ flight from Nigeria to a distant airport was suddenly rerouted, causing them to travel an extra three hours by road to reach their destination. The team left Nigeria on Sunday.
The players, pilots, and other staff members were left stuck at the Libyan airport for more than 13 hours without access to basic supplies like food, water, or a place to relax, which made the situation worse.
Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, denounced the players’ treatment earlier on Monday, calling it both despicable and disgusting.
She called attention to the risks associated with driving in Libya and encouraged the appropriate authorities to act quickly to protect the Nigerian team’s safety and wellbeing.
Dabiri-Erewa emphasized that the Libyan government had not made sufficient preparations to host the squad.
“The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) was unable to provide alternate arrangements, and the team was delayed at the airport for over 13 hours without any apparent cause,” she claimed.
