Commenting on the incident, President Motsepe while speaking at the ongoing General Assembly on Tuesday said the organisation was committed to accountability in such matters.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) President, Patrice Motsepe, has insisted that the institution will take proper action after investigating the incident involving the Nigerian national team at the Al Abraq Airport ahead of their clash against Libya.
SaharaReporters had reported how the team, the Super Eagles, accused Libyan authorities of deliberately diverting their flight and delaying them for 14 hours.
This had made the team players and officials to eventually decide not to honour the 2025 AFCON qualifier against Libya.
Commenting on the incident, President Motsepe while speaking at the ongoing General Assembly on Tuesday said the organisation was committed to accountability in such matters.
He said: “When there was this problem of the Nigerian national team in Libya. I will not comment on that because there is a proper investigation [going on] but I want to emphasise the principle we will not tolerate. Because this is something that has been going on for quite some time. Forget about the Nigeria-Libya situation because it has been properly investigated and appropriate action will be taken.
“I have heard too many stories of a football club or a national team going to a country. You spend hours at the airport and they ask you about documents that is not meant to be accessed. And apparently during Covid, they will look at the 10 best players from your team and say those players have Covid. These are lack of sportsmanship that has existed and we have not taken effective action.”
The President’s words were in line with the previous statement issued by the organisation on the issue.
CAF confirmed it had been in contact with both Libyan and Nigerian authorities after learning that the Nigerian national football team and its officials were instructed by Libyan authorities to land under troubling conditions.
The statement had read: “The matter has been referred to the CAF Disciplinary Board for investigation, and appropriate action will be taken against those who violated the CAF Statutes and Regulations.”
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