African football governing body president Dr. Patrice Motsepe has condemned the situation between the Nigeria national team and Libya, revealing that proper investigation is still ongoing and appropriate decisions will be taken afterwards, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
The Nigerian team faced significant adversity, which ultimately led to the cancellation of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying match against Libya, originally scheduled as part of matchday four.
The Nigerian national team experienced substandard treatment upon their arrival in Libya on Sunday, a situation that prompted both players and officials to pull out of the scheduled fixture. After facing these difficulties, the team was flown out of Libya on Monday evening, bringing an end to their short but turbulent stay in the North African country.
Speaking on the issue during the 46th ordinary general assembly, he said;
"We have zero tolerance for this situation and I'm not going to express any comment. When I sleep, I usually get my cell phone next to me and it's always open and particularly is that we got 80,000 employees where I am the executive chairman. So when there is any accident, I have got to know immediately and I have also got other responsibilities".
"When there was this problem of the Nigerian national team in Libya, I won't comment because there's a proper investigation and appropriate action would be taken but I want to emphasize a principle that we will not tolerate because this is something that have been going on for quiet sometime".
"Forget about the Nigeria-Libya situation, I have heard stories of football clubs or national teams go to a country, you spend hours at the airport and they ask about documents but they aren't complete especially during Covid. They would look at the best players of your team and say they've got covid and in your defense, you say we just been tested but they will insist on it and that's not a good sportsmanship attitude".
"We require that visiting clubs, national teams been treated with respect and dignity as they do deserve it", concluded.
Olaleye Oluwadamilola