By Abubakar Yunusa
Africa’s football governing body has sided with Nigeria in that country’s dispute with Libya over a canceled qualifying game.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) awarded Nigeria a 3-0 victory over Libya following accusations Libya deliberately breached competition guidelines.
Libya’s football federation is appealing.
The decision by the CAF puts Nigeria at the top of their division, Group D, and in contention for a spot at next year’s Africa Cup of Nations, or AFCON, finals, in Morocco.
The CAF on Saturday said Libya violated a rule that mandates that host nations receive and manage the logistics of visiting teams.
The body also ordered Libya to pay a fine of $50,000 within 60 days.
On October 15, Nigerian players returned home rather than play what would have been a qualifying match in Libya. They were protesting long delays at an airport about 250 kilometers away from the venue after their charter flight was unexpectedly diverted. Some news reports say the players were delayed by about 16 hours.
Nigerian football fan Elvis Ume welcomed the CAF’s decision.
“I think justice was served because the truth of the matter is that they genuinely put our players’ lives in danger,” he said “It was extremely malicious on their part. In my opinion they got off lightly. I think CAF could still have been a bit more firm in their decision for it to serve a sort of a deterrent to other countries.”
But the Libya Football Federation, or LFF, denies deliberately trying to dampen the morale of the Nigerian Super Eagles players and has appealed the decision.
Libya called the CAF’s decision unjust and malicious. The federation accused the Nigerian team of using the reputation of its players – who are team members of various European leagues – to win global support on the matter.
The LFF said its players faced similar challenges in Nigeria days earlier and that the situation is not unique to African football leagues.
Sports analysts say common tricks may include immigration delays, lengthy trips or allocation of poor training facilities.
“When you look at antecedents, the North Africans especially Libya, Morocco, Egypt, they’re known for this ‘gamesmanship,'” said Nigerian sports analyst Bunmi Haruna. “I think in Europe they call it the ‘dark act.’ This is the chance for CAF to let the whole world know … it’s not good for our football in any way.”
Haruna said the CAF must continue to uphold this standard.
“I think it’s a very good step from CAF and I hope it’s not just going to be a one-off because these things happen even in club football. They want to go and appeal, which is good in terms of testing the laws.”
It is very unlikely that the CAF will reverse its decision, but many will be watching to see the outcome of Libya’s appeal.