I’m from Lesotho. I captained the national team from 1994-1997! I’ve experienced mind games in Africa, it’s everywhere. But this is next level. It’s not even mind games, it’s beyond that. This put Nigerian players in grave danger. That airport isn’t even operational, it’s only used for hajj. So pathetic. No Wi-fi, no electricity, nothing. To tell the pilot to divert to another airport just as the plane was in its final approach to land? C’mon man! All this for 3 points???? There’s more to life than 3 points. It’s a 3 hour drive from that airport to Benghazi. Very unsafe, especially given the political situation in Libya. All the governing bodies have to fine Libya heavily, and make sure they don’t ever stage a home game in the near future.
@thabanesutu79 That's exactly what my fear was. That region of Libya is a tinderbox with all the geopolitical tension. I had no idea that they were diverted to Al Albraq International Airport in Bayda. It was inhumane the way they were treated. I'm just happy that the players were able to get back to Abuja safely. This hurt me not only as someone of Nigerian heritage but also as a human being. Fifa must investigate this. Thank you for sharing your thoughts 🙏🏿.
@@ravensmedical9153 You simply can’t put these players’ lives in danger just to score some mind games points. I’m a huge fan of Nigerian football. I’ve been there before. I played against that U20 team in 1988 in Ibadan. It had some of the greatest players in Nigerian football history, or at least of them would later be. Mutiu Adepoju was part of that team, as was Nduka Ugbade. He was the captain. I signed for Al Ahly in 1993 and played against Emmanuel Amunike during his short stint with Zamalek. Good times!
@thabanesutu79 thanks for summarizing all here for us. I was even surprised to hear that Libya 🇱🇾 is playing in AFCON qualifying. This country hasn't been stable since the death of Ghadaffi. What they did was so wrong and inhumane.
As a Zamalek fan, I unfortunately agree with you 😂 Also this has nothing to do with mind games, apparently when Libya went over to Nigeria there were delays and Libya were just paying them back.
@@fashelfutstop talking rubbish, if you don't know what happened in Nigeria ask some questions please, I am from Nigeria, it's the Libyan officials that make the mistakes of rooting their airline to a wrong destination not Nigeria, moreover they booked they charactered airline and did not follow the instructions, they have no obe to blame, they arrived to the very city and Nigeria officials told them to fly with the same airline to the same city that's to host the match, they refused and insisted that they will be travelling by the road and the distance to the city is about 2 hours by bus and Nigeria officials offered them police escorts which they rejected with an intentions to carry out what they just did in Libya to Nigeria officials
As a Sudanese, the fact that the Sudanese and Ghanaian teams landed safely and they are playing in the same country and same stadium as Nigeria (Libya, Benghazi, Maytrs Stadium) really goes to show that Libya FA did this on purpose against the Nigerians!! Not fair and Libya should be disqualified and three points for Nigeria.
@@musiccarteL-x7n Ok so you get a slap on the face and in retaliation you chop off the man's head? You got 3hrs delay to the city of venue and y'all retaliated with a 24hrs delay in the airport without no Internet no food nor drinks & etc. Y'all are absolutely mad indeed. 😡 Their must be a strong sanction and big fine too from CAF just to use Libya as an example for other North African countries who are specialist in such humane treatment.
@@musiccarteL-x7nThe thing you feel that led to it were all set up from Libya trying to have a balanced situation for people like you who will want to use it to justify their barbaric and insensitive acts. Who asked them to land in Port Harcourt while Nigerian officials were waiting for their arrival at Uyo being the venue for the match and secondly they refused to use the same flight that brought them to Port Harcourt down to Uyo insisting they would take road to Uyo. Then why will they deliberately reject a logistic arrangement from Nigeria and insisting on their own arrangement and later started complaining about the vehicle they arranged for themselves. The whole scenario and conversations with the timing were recorded and documented. So we are waiting on CAF to do the right thing.
@@musiccarteL-x7nbefore U come with that fake story, know that Libyans were never diverted to strange airport in Nigeria, they landed in a different city without telling the Nigerians on time, which was different from the venue city the Nigerians were expecting them to land... They were treated well with multiple escorts to the other city by land because the Libyans themselves refused to fly with their plane to the expected city citing the additional cost. They drove in a comfortable luxurious bus. They waited for about 4hours in the airport as a result of them choosing to land on a different city while Nigerian fa had made arrangements for them in the game venue city. This is very understandable. Libya on the other hand is Barbaric
They didn't make a public statement but it's been confirmed by the Nigerian sports minister that CAF president was on and off the phone with him while all this was going on.
Everything about African football was handed over to North Africa and these unsincere guys don't even suppose to be part of the African football. They should have joined their fellow Arabs
very unserious set of people in CAF. The CAF president was still pleading with Nigeria to go ahead with the match, can u imagine. They are the main enablers of this behavior and there have been countless complaints against libya for this behavior in the past before by various other countries especially when it comes to intercontinental club football but no real serious punishment has been applied yet. Such a shame!
The Tunisian pilot flying the Nigerian Value jet said as he was already positioned to land at the Bengazi Airport tarmac but a call from the control tower said he's not allowed to land, when he asked they told him it's order from above and that he should proceed to abandoned AL Abaq Airport on used for Hajj pilgrims, the pilot said he told the he's already running outta fuel they cut him off the radar. Such things can cause deadly crashes. FIFA should honestly be a part of this, human lives are involved.
Why are u guys worried or disturbed about Libya.. At first i never see Libya as a country.. They are all beast of no nation and what do you expect from such country.
I met a Libyan in LA the other day while working. He asked me “if I ever been there to Libya 🇱🇾.” I responded by saying: “I’ll never ever go to that country.” He replied: “smart man”
@@nsohjoshuachi9536shut up mate, if you don't know what happened in Nigeria close your mouth, Nigeria did not do that to them, they rooted their flight wrongly to another city before calling Nigeria officials and Nigeria officials told them that they rooted the flight to a wrong destination, when they finally landed in the city Nigeria officials sent some delegates to them and told them that they should fly with the same airline to the very city the game is to be played in, they refused and insisted that they will be going to the city instead by a bus, moreover the city is not that faraway, it's could be less than 2 hours journey by bus, then Nigeria officials offered them police escorts to the city they rejected it, their failures in Nigeria is their own mistakes not Nigeria mistakes
You are wrong sir. Libya flew into Nigeria and they were supposed to land at Uyo Airport but due to their pilots fault ended up at Port Harcourt international Airport. Buses were provided foŕ them to convey them to Uyo. The issue is this sir, i agree Nigeria may have their faults too, but this is an all time LOW from the Libyans. The fact there is that Ghana plays their AFCON matches in LIBYA presently, i got a confirmation that the Ghanaians were warmly received in the same Libya. It's a BIG shame.
@@musiccarteL-x7nThat's not true. Nigeria has never diverted the flight of any team and held them hostage. It's nobody's fault if you're supposed to land at Uyo and you choose to cut cost by landing at Portharcourt when resources has already been put in place to welcome you at Uyo.
@@Soppy_kop2when was that? You people should get your facts and figure straight. Nigerian international airports work from sunrise to sunset. Not 24 hours maybe as you have in Qatar. The south Africans flight got in after sunset, NFF already made provision for security and accommodation to move them to a hotel close to the venue. Go and read the official statements first and stop spitting ignorance. Why would Nigeria be scared of south Africa, is it as Brazil with neymar or Argentina with Messi? The issue is that most of you simply read the news headline without verifying. Make out time travel to Nigeria and land at port Harcourt airport after 7pm at the airport. It has nothing to do with you as a south africa. They Libyan team that are complaining also went to a Nigerian mosque and also took pictures (I know you didn't hear that too), they were hosted in uyo given food (best west Africa delicacy, I know your informant didn't intimate you about that). Arrangement for an air-conditioned bus was provided for a 2 hour journey days before the match. Of we were playing France/Germany/Argentina they claims will be mathing, not a 121st team in ranking. Even a better ranked team benin (we won them by 3:0). Football wise, Libya is not rated in Africa, let alone in Nigeria. Who should be scared of who?
@@musiccarteL-x7n If Nigeria did what you're saying here, I'm sure the issue would have been raised by the concerned federations. So this happened only in your imagination
People here complaining about no wifi, but being stranded in a desert country for 12 hours without suya, moi moi, ogbono soup and jolof rice is enough to break any camels back. Caf should act!
@@shahabparkar1383 This is not the past. Libya is not a safe place. Everyone knows this. Militias everywhere. Why do you think the Nigerian team decided not to travel by bus?
I've noticed a pattern in this comment section of other North Africans justifying what Libya did to the Nigerian players by saying, "...Nigeria did same to the Libyans." The simple answer to that is it is not true. Libya landed their own chartered plane in Portharcourt, of their own volition, despite the match scheduled to take place in Uyo, which is a 1-hour drive from Portharcourt. There was no reason given by the Libyan Federation for landing in Portharcourt. The Nigerians had buses waiting at the Uyo Airport for the Libyans. The Libyans completely refused to fly to Uyo, which is only a 15-minute flight as the two cities are very close. They insisted on driving to Uyo in their own buses without air conditioning. They waited at the Port Harcourt Airport for 3-4 hours for these buses to move them to Uyo. All I've said above are verifiable facts from online and real-life sources. How does that justify putting the Nigerian players at risk for 14 hours in an abandoned airport? Is there no formal way of reporting their grievances to CAF about their perceived maltreatment in Nigeria? Can you all just stop with the whole "..they were maltreated in Nigeria, so they paid back" bulls**t? They knew they were gonna lose the match and decided to go down this dangerous path of stupidity.... Rubbish
I'm Nigerian too but an NFF official said they're supposed to land in PH for immigration process which can't be done in Uyo airport bcos it isn't an international Airport yet and after that proceed to Uyo straight with the same aircraft which NFF has already submitted to the authorities to be cleared to fly them to Uyo but they declined citing costs and all that which messed up arrangements for everything. There's no way they can fly directly to Uyo, no visiting team has ever landed in Uyo without touching down for immigration processes in any of our international airports. Even when Super Eagles was going to Libya they had to 1st go to Aminu Kano international Airport Kano for immigration clearance b4 departing to Libya. It's the same thing the SouthAfricans saying here but their own is their fault also bcos from their own country they delayed 18 hours to the scheduled time they're supposed to land in PH, by the time they got to PH the airport in Uyo has already closed bcos it only deals with domestic flights so the SA team had to stay in PH airport till morning so Uyo airport will open. None of this Nigerian fault that's why none of them reported to CAF
@ValentineUgochukwu okay then...corrections noted... The major point still remains that any delays in Nigeria when the Libyans arrived were within manageable limits, regardless of who or what caused it... The 14-hour wait at the Libyan airport on the day before the match is totally unacceptable.... Cheers.
@Valentine, Oga where did u get ur news from, that u are Nigerian, bringing fake news, they where where supposed to land in Uyo and not Port Harcourt, the made a stop over in Lagos for security check purpose, get ur fact right, fyi am also a Nigerian.
I never thought these behaviors still existed in African soccer ⚽️ in 2024. These used to happen a lot back in the late 1980s and the 1990s. What a shame 🫠 😔
Where were you under a rock in the past years. Every world cup qualifiers and afcon it happens just not a lot said about it. Nigeria do it to other teams. Ghana etc list goes on
Afcon losing credibility with its seriousness yet again. If you don't take your own competition serious how can you expect others to?! This is so wrong
@@MajorrBisonNah, they aren't. AFCON teams do similar, albeit less extreme, things all the time. This was just an escalation. They all need to grow up.
AFCON is packed with corruption and all the ones in charge care about is enriching themselves. They do not care about anything else. That is the sad reality about AFCON.
@@traplivesmatter1462I disagree with that. AFCON is regional competition not an ethnic or cultural competition. If you are on the African continent you should be eligible for the AFCON. Let's not create issues where there shouldn't be any
If I'm Nigeria any time Libya is coming to play in their country they will have to fly to cameroon and pass through mamfe road before coming to Nigeria to play the game .
@@frenzyjames why should they be banned? nigeria is worst at this same thing theyre accusing the libians. nigeria did it first to them and they decided to retaliate.
@@Charrygabyou've got to be properly informed before ditching out clueless comments... do some research and stop being ignorant because of hate. 10hrs+ no food, no Wi-Fi for communication whatsoever..... there's no justification for this in any way unless you're talking out od hate... this is not the first time they did this. The same happened Nigerian football clubs Enyimba and Rivers utd where they had to train in dark stadiums.
Seriously!! When you hear stuff, do your investigation, sir. Libya caused its own 1-hour delay in Nigeria, we were NOT at fault! They had been told to land at Uyo Airport, the same city in which game was to be played, they headed for Port-Harcourt and informed the Nigerian authorities of their detour! When they were told thatb Uyo was less than an hour away from their location, that they should fly there, they insisted on going by road, which we insisted was not the best. Then, we provided transportation, yet they insisted that they would make their own arrangements...in another mans' country! Still, we provided security! All of that, it was their own doing! This this day, they never explained why they chose to land in Uyo!
They even refused to refuel the Nigerian plane b4 leaving and when they finally accepted they had to charge 10 times the actual price. It's all out there.
I am not surprised, as North African countries at the national or club level have always done this to their opponents. I hope they will learn a lesson from this.
Facts, few years ago, Algerian kept Burkina Faso's soccer team awake the night prior by making loud noise at their hotel. Fear these people. They can be diabolical sometimes
That is why we should be scared of the tournament being hosted in Morocco in 2025. It was apparent, when they bullied the referee as they lost to South Africa in afcon 2024. It is much like once a north African team hosts the African nations cup they ensure*****(by hook or crook) that that cup won't leave their country. That is not football.
@@tochidanliar when north africa play in congo ghana nigeria they even do vodoo and spray chemicals in players dressing rooms, with bad stadium and bad hotel food just so u can win games at home look at african stadium before u talk about morocco and north africa
@@Wizzy678North African Arab teams are the worst both club sides and their national team, no fair play at all...Using lasers, pepper spray and delay tactics is what they are known for, just watch the Caf champions league and see their true colors from Wydad Casablanca , Wydad, Alhaly, Es tunis and others, they are crooked, i am not surprised Libya is doing the same...
These fools, since they Arabs invaded to displace blacks in North Africa, they've never liked black... but we do not care. Nigerians-the most hospitable people in Africa stand against their bullcrap once and for all on behalf of all black Africans Countries.
Lol targeting countries with an agenda in ur mind im north african so i know what happens when our teams play in congo or parts of east and south africa, african spray dressing rooms of players with chemicals and bad hotel food with terrible stadium so just african teams can win in the african league while most stadiums in north africa are up to the standards
@@Wizzy678 It's the truth. Wait, did you say bad hotel food? bad stadium? This males u lose a game? See Messi play at worse pitches lol. Wait, u think everyone is barca and can have camp nou? NA stadiums ain't that good either. Literally South Africa has the largest football stadium itw at 95k, bigger than nou camp, bigger than signal iduna park. Stop projecting.
This is inhumane and very unacceptable, you can't keep an entire team hostage for over 14hrs. It is no longer football, I'm very grateful that they all got back home safely from such a hostile ground!
This really grinded my gears ⚙️. The Libya FA had to resort to petulant mind games to try to get a perceived leg up on the competition. A family friend in Ibadan told me that the Super Eagles were stuck in the Libyan airport (most likely the one in either Misrata or Qaser Bin Ghashir) for nearly 20 hours. I was livid at the Libyan dignitaries and a little at the NFF. Fifa needs to investigate this and place sanctions on the Libya FA 🇱🇾.
Believe me as a libyan i can promise you no matter what nationality they are, once you disrespect us we will treat you the same way, it’s not about three points it’s about the lack of hospitality
The Nigerian government should take this matter up to Fifa and the court of arbitration. This was a hostage situation and should not be taking lightly.
Great Content! Seeing this analysis about AFCON matters on ESPN blows my mind, and you guys did a great job on this. Libya is just becoming worse at handling foreigners issues well. CAF need to treat this matter with great sense of responsibility.
One point 3 games. Libya is much like a failing student who needs someone to fail with. Nigeria doesn't need the nations cup. The boys need to qualify for the world cup. With our outstanding games the second spot is guaranteed at minimum
So they got a call from the president and there where kidnapped against there will to try and intimidate them. Congrats to Nigeria for opposing this treatment of there opponents.
And to add to the garbageness of the ordeal, the Libya national football team really isn't that good on the pitch. All this unprofessionalism for nothing but gain massive reputation damage instead.
A team that spent 2 weeks practicing neymars theatrics of touch and roll. When they announced initially that they opened camp, people were like wow. This must be a serious team. Not knowing that they simply were chilling in a picnic all those days with their dubious plan.
@@usmanjohn3267 They can never qualify, sitting last in the group with only one point. It would be a miracle for them to qualify. They would need to go away and winning matches too.
@@mamab2937you don't need the in Jesus name. Because it is simply stating the obvious. 3 games 1 point. They are not sure of winning Nigeria if the match has continued. Rwanda and Benin will still win them.
This is not typical of Afcon - never happens between black African nations playing against each other - this is typical of North African countries when teams (even clubs) from other parts of Africa travel to play there. Happens often in Tunisia, Algeria. Egypt... Has even led to a plane crash killing the African team years ago who had been denied landing rights and kept in the air without fuel..
@@antoinedoinell There is a great deal of racism towards black people in Arab countries, that's for sure, though Europeans and Americans generally don't seem to know this. But whether such racism has anything to do with these football incidents, I don't know.
@@Otieno-y6e That's unfortunate. The plane crashing is absolutely insane. I hope the federation's step in to put an end to this sort of stuff for good. It's childish, unprofessional and not good for the fans who want to see their teams play. Thanks.
@severinlourenco8355 How do you think World Football gets funding? Through politics. Your comment is like reading a political slogan that has zero meaning. Politics is innately intertwined with football and always has been.
They even refused to refuel the Nigerian plane b4 leaving to Nigeria and when they finally accepted they had to charge 10 times the actual price. It's all out there.
This is absolutely unacceptable by Nigerains and Nigeria Federation. CAF needs to santion failure of "Lybia football federation" for this behaviour towards a foreign football team.
This is ridiculous. This is not the first time Libyan FA is doing this. Something needs to be done. @CAF needs to respond immediately. And @FIFA also needs to get involved. Immediate sanction needs to be level against Libyan FA.
If the North Africans wants to form their own Nations Cup (Arab Nations Cup), I think they should speak up other than doing all of this. Also, this situation speaks volume about the crippling state of Africa and their leadership across all sectors. With such situation, it’s hard to win the bid for the hosting of any global competition. Even the upcoming World Cup that’s been cohosted by an African country, I think FIFA would have to scrutinise them to avoid any form of uncertainties.
in Nigeria, the Libyans of their own accird flew to a different city instead of the city where they were designated to be received by the Nigerian authorities. They messed up the preparations already made to receive them and experienced only an hour delay . They then decided to make a mountain out of a mole hill even though they were the cause of the whole problem in the first place.
@@joshuabidemi6050it's has everything to do with this mess, most of just don't dig deep to know what really happened. Nigerian team was already airborne to Libya when he resigned. Reports said he resigned at about 7pm Libyan time while the Nigerian aircraft was scheduled to touchdown in Bengazi by 8pm Libyan time the same night. The man said he didn't wanna be a part of something that will kill Libyan sports meaning he's already aware of the plans ahead but resigned b4 the Nigerian team touched down. Go read his statement.
Nigeria beat Lybia 4-0 before loosing in Nigeria 1-0. I guess that last defeat hit them hard and from then on they all lost their minds and switched to terror mode
Will Obi Mikel comment about this since he was so very vocal in questioning why some players with African ancestry chose to play for non-African nations. I know there are some arguments about this being revenge for similar things done in Nigeria but to me it's irrelevant. Anyone who watched African football in the past knows the games played by host nations whenever another African team came to play a game, whether it be continental club competitions or national teams. Delays at the airports, long bus trips, poor training facilities etc. I thought this nonsense would have come to an end but here we are. Yes it's better now but it really shouldn't happen especially when there is no political hostility between the nations. The fact that they would rarely ever do this to non-African teams is part of a much bigger issue with the mindset within Africa. And it goes beyond football. Even in just general life, travelling between African nations can be a nightmare especially for Africans. Fingers crossed such a high profile incident is the one of the many steps to be taken in fixing this issue across the continent. As usual there will be excuses and defenders of such practices but that's par for the course sadly.
Just seal ur dirty mouth on Mikel. Was he lying when he said players should step up. And it's true. Jackson got to step up. Just like Enzo, Mudryk, and defenders. This same people were criticized by Mikel. You just shut ur silly mouth and build yourself based on acceptable standards and goals. If Jackson makes more money from putting in the work, will he give me or Mikel money earned? Just sthu
sharing someone else's comment in this same thread, FYI: I've noticed a pattern in this comment section of other North Africans justifying what Libya did to the Nigerian players by saying, "...Nigeria did same to the Libyans." The simple answer to that is it is not true. Libya landed their own chartered plane in Portharcourt, of their own volition, despite the match scheduled to take place in Uyo, which is a 1-hour drive from Portharcourt. There was no reason given by the Libyan Federation for landing in Portharcourt. The Nigerians had buses waiting at the Uyo Airport for the Libyans. The Libyans completely refused to fly to Uyo, which is only a 15-minute flight as the two cities are very close. They insisted on driving to Uyo in their own buses without air conditioning. They waited at the Port Harcourt Airport for 3-4 hours for these buses to move them to Uyo. All I've said above are verifiable facts from online and real-life sources. How does that justify putting the Nigerian players at risk for 14 hours in an abandoned airport? Is there no formal way of reporting their grievances to CAF about their perceived maltreatment in Nigeria? Can you all just stop with the whole "..they were maltreated in Nigeria, so they paid back" bulls**t? They knew they were gonna lose the match and decided to go down this dangerous path of stupidity.... Rubbish
It is easy to allowed Ghana and Sudan to land the same Airport, but premeditated to denying Nigeria 🇳🇬 on whatever tactics they want to use just to have competitive advantage. You can't treat Nigeria 🇳🇬 that way. I think Libyan don't believe this can escalated this way.
ESPN you're clueless! Nigeria did the exact thing to Libya just last week but zero mention of this lol! They kept Libyan players and authorities trapped in the airport for 12 plus hours with no food, internet or drinks. Then proceeded to take through gang terrority where 2 supersport reporters died just last week. Shame on you acting like Libya did this to Nigeria for no reason haha! Why didnt this happen to any other team in Libya? Go ask Rwanda, go ask Mauritus etc! You get treated how you treat others! Karma! This isnt the first time Nigeria have done this either- ask south africa! Dont start crying now when you started it hypocrites!
They didn't do anything in Nigeria so stop with the Caps. Libya has been doing this since CAF Champions League format so I don't understand why anyone would be astonished
What the Libyan government did to the Super Eagles players is despicable and they know what they're doing. You can't treat our players the same way you treat Nigerians that come to Libya for greener pastures. This is totally unacceptable and AFCON has to sanction Libya for their heinous crime. What nonsense!!
Zambia once went to play a qualifier against Ghana, there flight was diverted to an Airport 400km away, after which they were made to come to the City in which the game would be played by Road. It didn't end there, they were not given access to any training facilities and they had to train in the Car park of the Hotel at which they were staying. Even after Zambia lodged in a complaint, CAF took no action, not even the proverbial slap on the wrist.
As I am watcher to this this program ESPN should bring the other side of the story when Libyan football team had to Waite hrs and hrs in Nigeria and what opened to them there with more disrespect than this
Wait hours and hours as what.... As Brazil or Argentina or france that you are right? ... Get your information straight before spilling rubbish.. The Nigeria i know treats foreigners with respect more than its citizens.... Its on record unlike Libya
@@judec1990 respect Libyan they will respect you back doesn’t matter if we are good in football or not by saying Barzail or Argentina that show level of disrespect
What the Libyans complained of in Nigeria was mostly of their own making. There was no deliberate plan to play mind games by the Nigerian authorities. However what they did to the Nigerian team was deliberate and atrocious.
FA's in Africa always do this, you'll fly in and they will move a match to another stadium further away and all that other stuff, but leaving players without food or water for 12 hours and them staying on those airport seats is an absolute disgrace
What did Nigeria do to Lybia? Lybia decided to land at wrong airport and take a road trip and rejected Nigeria Police escort. How the heck is it Nigeri's fault?
Simply because you are an Ibrahim, so you do not care that they landed at the wrong Nigerian airport on purpose! someone else's response in this same thread: I've noticed a pattern in this comment section of other North Africans justifying what Libya did to the Nigerian players by saying, "...Nigeria did same to the Libyans." The simple answer to that is it is not true. Libya landed their own chartered plane in Portharcourt, of their own volition, despite the match scheduled to take place in Uyo, which is a 1-hour drive from Portharcourt. There was no reason given by the Libyan Federation for landing in Portharcourt. The Nigerians had buses waiting at the Uyo Airport for the Libyans. The Libyans completely refused to fly to Uyo, which is only a 15-minute flight as the two cities are very close. They insisted on driving to Uyo in their own buses without air conditioning. They waited at the Port Harcourt Airport for 3-4 hours for these buses to move them to Uyo. All I've said above are verifiable facts from online and real-life sources. How does that justify putting the Nigerian players at risk for 14 hours in an abandoned airport? Is there no formal way of reporting their grievances to CAF about their perceived maltreatment in Nigeria? Can you all just stop with the whole "..they were maltreated in Nigeria, so they paid back" bulls**t? They knew they were gonna lose the match and decided to go down this dangerous path of stupidity.... Rubbish
Standing machine... stand alone...make I ask you, since your birth is this the first time u are standing for something? Cos ur enthusiasm on letting us know was obvious 😂😂
@@uplifting_sounds Same here too. Abegi forget about the South Africans crying me a river. Bcos we didn't serve them ice cream on their arrival so we have committed a sin.
You said you have seen comments, did you try to fact check? It was Libya's fault that they chose to land in another capital instead of Uyo where NFF have scheduled for them. It was their choice through there logistics. Even the bus they used to get to the state where they were scheduled to play was arranged by their FA not Nigeria which turned out not to have AC. JUst as we arrived Libya with our bus already waiting for us at the scheduled location. We did not even deny them food, water or wifi. please Nigeria is not as wicked as you, we are hospitable in nature and stop bringing in South Africa into the conversation 😂😂😂😂
You didn't even talk about the small rickety 8 seater bus to convey a twenty something man squad. And yes they have been doing this to our club sides for ages only this time they took it up notches higher. We are glad our boys are back. They should give them the 3 points too if they want it this bad. CAF must sanction Libya appropriately. We don't want to be in a group where there's a Libya in future. Nonsense !
Disqualify Libya from the match.. award Nigeria the game and points. Next time this happens (intentional or not) Libya should be banned for 5 years from CAF competition.
indeed what goes around comes back around they once deed it to kenya some years back when kenya visited nigeria how painful its for them now to cry now it is now coming back to hunt them what a shame
Libya FF & govt were terrible, treating Nigerian players and officials so inhumanely and endangering their lives, for almost 20 hours. FIFA should get CAF to fine Libya heavily.
When Nigeria does this to other countries no one says anything but now because it happened to Nigeria and they have international players it is now wrong? Don't be biased, report the truth. Nigeria did this to South Africa and they did again with Libya last week.
@@Justrenq why don't you disprove him instead of the standard, "do your research?" It does not take much, respond with facts and that will shut someone up.
@@mo_0912 can't waste my time typing but I'll just do it. Libya was never given I'll treatment, our match against Libya in Nigeria which everyone knew it will be played in uyo including Libya but they chose to land in porthacourt due to some financial issues. Also note that they informed nff an hour after they have left. But it was petty for them to sit on the flour because our pH airport was recently renovated and has facilities but because they chose to land in pH they have to go through normal protocols there. After they protocols they left for uyo which Nigeria provided all necessary things. Security bus name it. They chose to be petty and we are always bigger than that.
This is what I heard... That arrangement was made for them at Uyo airport, the city for the game... But they informed NFF very late for their arrival and they flew to Port Harcourt,.... Nff asked them to fly to Uyo from Port Harcourt with the same flight,they refused.. They chose to make plan for their own bus to travel on land to Uyo ... They are angry that the bus has no Ac... They were check by the police at check point.... Whose fault is that? So diverting a plane in libya, to an abandoned airport, no food, for 12 hours ? That's terrorism!!!
@@sakirusolarin5405 Nigeria did thee same.... the only difference is Libya didn't have international stars who the world listens to when they post on social media
Please post what Nigerians did we want to know... Did we divert your flight to an abandoned area? Did we cut off communication from you?were your players given security and good hotels to sleep in? Please i want to know what exactly Nigeria did..... This is not the first time we are hosting countries internationally.... If we want to play mind games we will play with high ranked teams not with Libya... Infact NIGERIA is even making the world know about Libya because nobody care about you guys in the first place
@@tawandahomero2913please show evidence to support your claim. So we know you aren't a liar, I assume your from SA, and we know south Africans lie a lot. So please show evidence. WE WILL WAIT AND IF YOU DON'T RESPOND YOU HAVE PROVEN MY POINT!
@sakiru!! Bros u are wrong. The truth is all over the internet. Get your facts right before drawing conclusions. We did them nothing. Libya cannot even qualify if CAF DASH THEM THE 3 POINTS AT SAKE. Our boys could have lost their lives in that thrashy airport used occasionally to convey people to hajj.
I’m from Lesotho. I captained the national team from 1994-1997! I’ve experienced mind games in Africa, it’s everywhere. But this is next level. It’s not even mind games, it’s beyond that. This put Nigerian players in grave danger. That airport isn’t even operational, it’s only used for hajj. So pathetic. No Wi-fi, no electricity, nothing. To tell the pilot to divert to another airport just as the plane was in its final approach to land? C’mon man! All this for 3 points???? There’s more to life than 3 points. It’s a 3 hour drive from that airport to Benghazi. Very unsafe, especially given the political situation in Libya. All the governing bodies have to fine Libya heavily, and make sure they don’t ever stage a home game in the near future.
@thabanesutu79 That's exactly what my fear was. That region of Libya is a tinderbox with all the geopolitical tension. I had no idea that they were diverted to Al Albraq International Airport in Bayda. It was inhumane the way they were treated. I'm just happy that the players were able to get back to Abuja safely. This hurt me not only as someone of Nigerian heritage but also as a human being. Fifa must investigate this. Thank you for sharing your thoughts 🙏🏿.
@@ravensmedical9153 You simply can’t put these players’ lives in danger just to score some mind games points. I’m a huge fan of Nigerian football. I’ve been there before. I played against that U20 team in 1988 in Ibadan. It had some of the greatest players in Nigerian football history, or at least of them would later be. Mutiu Adepoju was part of that team, as was Nduka Ugbade. He was the captain. I signed for Al Ahly in 1993 and played against Emmanuel Amunike during his short stint with Zamalek. Good times!
@thabanesutu79 thanks for summarizing all here for us. I was even surprised to hear that Libya 🇱🇾 is playing in AFCON qualifying. This country hasn't been stable since the death of Ghadaffi. What they did was so wrong and inhumane.
As a Zamalek fan, I unfortunately agree with you 😂
Also this has nothing to do with mind games, apparently when Libya went over to Nigeria there were delays and Libya were just paying them back.
@@fashelfutstop talking rubbish, if you don't know what happened in Nigeria ask some questions please, I am from Nigeria, it's the Libyan officials that make the mistakes of rooting their airline to a wrong destination not Nigeria, moreover they booked they charactered airline and did not follow the instructions, they have no obe to blame, they arrived to the very city and Nigeria officials told them to fly with the same airline to the same city that's to host the match, they refused and insisted that they will be travelling by the road and the distance to the city is about 2 hours by bus and Nigeria officials offered them police escorts which they rejected with an intentions to carry out what they just did in Libya to Nigeria officials
As a Sudanese, the fact that the Sudanese and Ghanaian teams landed safely and they are playing in the same country and same stadium as Nigeria (Libya, Benghazi, Maytrs Stadium) really goes to show that Libya FA did this on purpose against the Nigerians!! Not fair and Libya should be disqualified and three points for Nigeria.
@@musiccarteL-x7n wdym im sorry i didn't understand who's one sided?
@@musiccarteL-x7n Ok so you get a slap on the face and in retaliation you chop off the man's head? You got 3hrs delay to the city of venue and y'all retaliated with a 24hrs delay in the airport without no Internet no food nor drinks & etc. Y'all are absolutely mad indeed. 😡 Their must be a strong sanction and big fine too from CAF just to use Libya as an example for other North African countries who are specialist in such humane treatment.
@@senatoraguolu4773 lol funny and great way to explain😆😆
@@musiccarteL-x7nThe thing you feel that led to it were all set up from Libya trying to have a balanced situation for people like you who will want to use it to justify their barbaric and insensitive acts.
Who asked them to land in Port Harcourt while Nigerian officials were waiting for their arrival at Uyo being the venue for the match and secondly they refused to use the same flight that brought them to Port Harcourt down to Uyo insisting they would take road to Uyo. Then why will they deliberately reject a logistic arrangement from Nigeria and insisting on their own arrangement and later started complaining about the vehicle they arranged for themselves.
The whole scenario and conversations with the timing were recorded and documented. So we are waiting on CAF to do the right thing.
@@musiccarteL-x7nbefore U come with that fake story, know that Libyans were never diverted to strange airport in Nigeria, they landed in a different city without telling the Nigerians on time, which was different from the venue city the Nigerians were expecting them to land...
They were treated well with multiple escorts to the other city by land because the Libyans themselves refused to fly with their plane to the expected city citing the additional cost.
They drove in a comfortable luxurious bus.
They waited for about 4hours in the airport as a result of them choosing to land on a different city while Nigerian fa had made arrangements for them in the game venue city.
This is very understandable.
Libya on the other hand is Barbaric
For 16hours CAF didn’t officially respond, it’s a big disgrace to AFCON and their team
They didn't make a public statement but it's been confirmed by the Nigerian sports minister that CAF president was on and off the phone with him while all this was going on.
Everything about African football was handed over to North Africa and these unsincere guys don't even suppose to be part of the African football. They should have joined their fellow Arabs
very unserious set of people in CAF. The CAF president was still pleading with Nigeria to go ahead with the match, can u imagine. They are the main enablers of this behavior and there have been countless complaints against libya for this behavior in the past before by various other countries especially when it comes to intercontinental club football but no real serious punishment has been applied yet. Such a shame!
They are useless bunch of idiots in CAF. so senseless fools
@@denenterver67 He is selling Black African to North Africa inorder to remiam in power
The Tunisian pilot flying the Nigerian Value jet said as he was already positioned to land at the Bengazi Airport tarmac but a call from the control tower said he's not allowed to land, when he asked they told him it's order from above and that he should proceed to abandoned AL Abaq Airport on used for Hajj pilgrims, the pilot said he told the he's already running outta fuel they cut him off the radar. Such things can cause deadly crashes. FIFA should honestly be a part of this, human lives are involved.
We could have had a Chapeconse situation. On God Libya should be banned for 20 years at least
If lives could genuinely have been in danger then I think Libya should be banned from playing international football for probably atleast a decade.
Why are u guys worried or disturbed about Libya.. At first i never see Libya as a country.. They are all beast of no nation and what do you expect from such country.
I met a Libyan in LA the other day while working. He asked me “if I ever been there to Libya 🇱🇾.” I responded by saying: “I’ll never ever go to that country.” He replied: “smart man”
Stop lying that did not happen
Libya before been invaded by France and NATO was far a better place than France
@@mattsmith4589 it’s true. He was with his parents. They came to my luggage store.
Was a better country than Farance b4 envaded Baye Farance n Na To
@@BC-mj7gj I’m African, too, from Mali 🇲🇱. I spent most of my life in USA 🇺🇸 But, I’ll never ever go to North Africa.
This a total disgrace. Libya should be fined heavily for this game advantage tactics. 3 points should be awarded to Nigeria period.
A very cold bottle of beer for you my friend, no cap.
Nigeria are a cry baby they did thesame to Libya as well so why does it hurt when it's done to them
@@nsohjoshuachi9536shut up mate, if you don't know what happened in Nigeria close your mouth, Nigeria did not do that to them, they rooted their flight wrongly to another city before calling Nigeria officials and Nigeria officials told them that they rooted the flight to a wrong destination, when they finally landed in the city Nigeria officials sent some delegates to them and told them that they should fly with the same airline to the very city the game is to be played in, they refused and insisted that they will be going to the city instead by a bus, moreover the city is not that faraway, it's could be less than 2 hours journey by bus, then Nigeria officials offered them police escorts to the city they rejected it, their failures in Nigeria is their own mistakes not Nigeria mistakes
And they did the same thing to South Africa
You are wrong sir. Libya flew into Nigeria and they were supposed to land at Uyo Airport but due to their pilots fault ended up at Port Harcourt international Airport. Buses were provided foŕ them to convey them to Uyo.
The issue is this sir, i agree Nigeria may have their faults too, but this is an all time LOW from the Libyans. The fact there is that Ghana plays their AFCON matches in LIBYA presently, i got a confirmation that the Ghanaians were warmly received in the same Libya. It's a BIG shame.
Watching this on ESPN as a Nigerian hits different. 🇳🇬
Gbam!
Naso o
Fr bro 😂
Garbage on ESPN see it's only negative make ESPN rubbish station
I swear, m here the most biased station, for once are making sence😂
A Libyan club did this to a Nigerian football club a few years ago. The same tactics and even made them train in a dark stadium at night
Enyimba FC 2022 and Rivers united 2021
Yes, exactly
Indeed no one knew, they switched off the light
It's time CAF is called to question on these rubbish tendencies
@@musiccarteL-x7nThat's not true. Nigeria has never diverted the flight of any team and held them hostage. It's nobody's fault if you're supposed to land at Uyo and you choose to cut cost by landing at Portharcourt when resources has already been put in place to welcome you at Uyo.
as a Nigerian watching this, I'm glad they took a stand to not play this match. what a joke
What a joke you did the same thing to South Africa and Libya,stop being a hypocrite
@@Soppy_kop2don't say what you don't know if what you're saying is true you will definitely hear them as the discussion goes on
How come nobody heard about that?@@Soppy_kop2
@@Soppy_kop2when was that? You people should get your facts and figure straight. Nigerian international airports work from sunrise to sunset. Not 24 hours maybe as you have in Qatar. The south Africans flight got in after sunset, NFF already made provision for security and accommodation to move them to a hotel close to the venue.
Go and read the official statements first and stop spitting ignorance. Why would Nigeria be scared of south Africa, is it as Brazil with neymar or Argentina with Messi?
The issue is that most of you simply read the news headline without verifying. Make out time travel to Nigeria and land at port Harcourt airport after 7pm at the airport. It has nothing to do with you as a south africa.
They Libyan team that are complaining also went to a Nigerian mosque and also took pictures (I know you didn't hear that too), they were hosted in uyo given food (best west Africa delicacy, I know your informant didn't intimate you about that). Arrangement for an air-conditioned bus was provided for a 2 hour journey days before the match.
Of we were playing France/Germany/Argentina they claims will be mathing, not a 121st team in ranking. Even a better ranked team benin (we won them by 3:0). Football wise, Libya is not rated in Africa, let alone in Nigeria.
Who should be scared of who?
@@Soppy_kop2 just talking for the sake of it 🤡😂
This is a shame to the libyan authorities. I followed the story quite alright and the maximum point should be awarded to Nigeria.
Do you know what happens to a country that was all bombed and invaded?
@@BC-mj7gj
Then they should move their home games to another Country of their choice not to punish other players who came to play in your country.
First of, does libya have a government? Super eagle players are spot on
@@musiccarteL-x7n If Nigeria did what you're saying here, I'm sure the issue would have been raised by the concerned federations. So this happened only in your imagination
@@Omez213 Nigeria did it first to libya in their last match so don't cry when they do the same
People here complaining about no wifi, but being stranded in a desert country for 12 hours without suya, moi moi, ogbono soup and jolof rice is enough to break any camels back. Caf should act!
😂😂😂😂 you will live long❤❤
I swear 🤣
Were!!!! This is not laughing matter🤣🤣🤣
😂😂😂
Nigerians are so funny 🤣
Imagine the Nigerian team agreed to play the match with Libya and Nigeria wins the match, i bet they will all be kidnapped, no doubt 😅😅😅
So true 😂😂
I swear
They were going to win actually. Libya have 1 point from 3 games lol.
We don't have Boko Haram in Libya.
Why is Libya hosting Afcon games when every rebel and militia rules their own territory like warlord Haftar
Exactly
I mean it’s ridiculous
You're living in the past! Wake up 😴
@@shahabparkar1383 This is not the past. Libya is not a safe place. Everyone knows this. Militias everywhere. Why do you think the Nigerian team decided not to travel by bus?
It’ll surprise you to find out that there are probably no attacks during these matches. Football and politics are familiar bedfellows
I've noticed a pattern in this comment section of other North Africans justifying what Libya did to the Nigerian players by saying, "...Nigeria did same to the Libyans." The simple answer to that is it is not true.
Libya landed their own chartered plane in Portharcourt, of their own volition, despite the match scheduled to take place in Uyo, which is a 1-hour drive from Portharcourt. There was no reason given by the Libyan Federation for landing in Portharcourt. The Nigerians had buses waiting at the Uyo Airport for the Libyans. The Libyans completely refused to fly to Uyo, which is only a 15-minute flight as the two cities are very close. They insisted on driving to Uyo in their own buses without air conditioning. They waited at the Port Harcourt Airport for 3-4 hours for these buses to move them to Uyo. All I've said above are verifiable facts from online and real-life sources.
How does that justify putting the Nigerian players at risk for 14 hours in an abandoned airport? Is there no formal way of reporting their grievances to CAF about their perceived maltreatment in Nigeria? Can you all just stop with the whole "..they were maltreated in Nigeria, so they paid back" bulls**t?
They knew they were gonna lose the match and decided to go down this dangerous path of stupidity.... Rubbish
I'm Nigerian too but an NFF official said they're supposed to land in PH for immigration process which can't be done in Uyo airport bcos it isn't an international Airport yet and after that proceed to Uyo straight with the same aircraft which NFF has already submitted to the authorities to be cleared to fly them to Uyo but they declined citing costs and all that which messed up arrangements for everything. There's no way they can fly directly to Uyo, no visiting team has ever landed in Uyo without touching down for immigration processes in any of our international airports. Even when Super Eagles was going to Libya they had to 1st go to Aminu Kano international Airport Kano for immigration clearance b4 departing to Libya. It's the same thing the SouthAfricans saying here but their own is their fault also bcos from their own country they delayed 18 hours to the scheduled time they're supposed to land in PH, by the time they got to PH the airport in Uyo has already closed bcos it only deals with domestic flights so the SA team had to stay in PH airport till morning so Uyo airport will open. None of this Nigerian fault that's why none of them reported to CAF
@ValentineUgochukwu okay then...corrections noted...
The major point still remains that any delays in Nigeria when the Libyans arrived were within manageable limits, regardless of who or what caused it...
The 14-hour wait at the Libyan airport on the day before the match is totally unacceptable....
Cheers.
@Valentine, Oga where did u get ur news from, that u are Nigerian, bringing fake news, they where where supposed to land in Uyo and not Port Harcourt, the made a stop over in Lagos for security check purpose, get ur fact right, fyi am also a Nigerian.
@@ValentineUgochukwueven ph airport doesn't work 24hours
Not some but south Africans
I never thought these behaviors still existed in African soccer ⚽️ in 2024. These used to happen a lot back in the late 1980s and the 1990s. What a shame 🫠 😔
Where were you under a rock in the past years. Every world cup qualifiers and afcon it happens just not a lot said about it. Nigeria do it to other teams. Ghana etc list goes on
Yeah
@Quazii-876 I am well aware of those, but what just happened in Libya 🇱🇾 is a shame . The whole world has seen it. Ha
This kind of stuff happens in most confederations. People just only pay attention to Europe.
@@Quazii-876
Do you have evidence for this? Don't just come online with your empty skull okay...
Afcon losing credibility with its seriousness yet again. If you don't take your own competition serious how can you expect others to?! This is so wrong
No, Libya are on their own on this one, not afcon per say.
@@MajorrBisonNah, they aren't. AFCON teams do similar, albeit less extreme, things all the time. This was just an escalation. They all need to grow up.
Well the Arab countries should host their own tournament... doesn't even make sense why they're part of AFCON.
AFCON is packed with corruption and all the ones in charge care about is enriching themselves.
They do not care about anything else.
That is the sad reality about AFCON.
@@traplivesmatter1462I disagree with that. AFCON is regional competition not an ethnic or cultural competition. If you are on the African continent you should be eligible for the AFCON. Let's not create issues where there shouldn't be any
Ok, no food or sleep, I can bear but once you turn off WiFi that is where I draw the line!
Wow
What wicked and pettyness
Totally agree with you mate
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
That is why I prefer to buy wifi data instead of buying food and clothes😂
😂😂😂😂
If I'm Nigeria any time Libya is coming to play in their country they will have to fly to cameroon and pass through mamfe road before coming to Nigeria to play the game .
😂😂 🏃♂️ 🏃♂️
😂😂😂😂😂😂… demon spotted 😈 🏃
That won't even happen cos Libya should be banned from participating in any international football competition!
@@frenzyjames why should they be banned?
nigeria is worst at this same thing theyre accusing the libians.
nigeria did it first to them and they decided to retaliate.
@@Charrygabyou've got to be properly informed before ditching out clueless comments... do some research and stop being ignorant because of hate. 10hrs+ no food, no Wi-Fi for communication whatsoever..... there's no justification for this in any way unless you're talking out od hate... this is not the first time they did this. The same happened Nigerian football clubs Enyimba and Rivers utd where they had to train in dark stadiums.
Colonel Gaddafi would’ve never allowed this
How do you know? He once came to Nigeria with his eccentric character, wanting to bypass our internal protocols at the Abuja airport.
@@Moabayi-yf6ulbecause he felt africans were one and didn’t need borders. Gaddafi was a little crazy but he had standards
They killed Gaddafi. Oooooh you never knew? Libya killed Gaddafi.
The gadaffi himself wasn't good, he started showing some deceptive moves when he fell out of relationship with the West.
No the west isn’t good and it goes to show all the world problems begin and end with the west
Nigeria said if we have to wait, so do you😂
But Nigeria never said that though.
He didnt mean it "litetally" @@thathandsomedevil0828
@@thathandsomedevil0828 you're slow sir.
Seriously!! When you hear stuff, do your investigation, sir. Libya caused its own 1-hour delay in Nigeria, we were NOT at fault! They had been told to land at Uyo Airport, the same city in which game was to be played, they headed for Port-Harcourt and informed the Nigerian authorities of their detour! When they were told thatb Uyo was less than an hour away from their location, that they should fly there, they insisted on going by road, which we insisted was not the best. Then, we provided transportation, yet they insisted that they would make their own arrangements...in another mans' country! Still, we provided security! All of that, it was their own doing! This this day, they never explained why they chose to land in Uyo!
@@AfricanStoriesbyDamani yea he or she is very slow 😂😂
They stayed for over 20 hours but they are back home in Abuja now
We thank God. Let CAF try to deduct points from Nigeria 🇳🇬.... these Libyans did same thing to us Cameroon 🇨🇲 last year. They ar soo marchiavalic
Thank God 🙏
They even refused to refuel the Nigerian plane b4 leaving and when they finally accepted they had to charge 10 times the actual price. It's all out there.
I am not surprised, as North African countries at the national or club level have always done this to their opponents. I hope they will learn a lesson from this.
Facts, few years ago, Algerian kept Burkina Faso's soccer team awake the night prior by making loud noise at their hotel. Fear these people. They can be diabolical sometimes
That is why we should be scared of the tournament being hosted in Morocco in 2025. It was apparent, when they bullied the referee as they lost to South Africa in afcon 2024.
It is much like once a north African team hosts the African nations cup they ensure*****(by hook or crook) that that cup won't leave their country.
That is not football.
@@tochidanliar when north africa play in congo ghana nigeria they even do vodoo and spray chemicals in players dressing rooms, with bad stadium and bad hotel food just so u can win games at home look at african stadium before u talk about morocco and north africa
@@Wizzy678North African Arab teams are the worst both club sides and their national team, no fair play at all...Using lasers, pepper spray and delay tactics is what they are known for, just watch the Caf champions league and see their true colors from Wydad Casablanca , Wydad, Alhaly, Es tunis and others, they are crooked, i am not surprised Libya is doing the same...
These fools, since they Arabs invaded to displace blacks in North Africa, they've never liked black... but we do not care. Nigerians-the most hospitable people in Africa stand against their bullcrap once and for all on behalf of all black Africans Countries.
Egyptian clubs, Libyan clubs, Sudanese Clubs, Tunisian Clubs THEY HAVE BEEN DOING THIS TO US FOR YEARS!!!!!!
Lol targeting countries with an agenda in ur mind im north african so i know what happens when our teams play in congo or parts of east and south africa, african spray dressing rooms of players with chemicals and bad hotel food with terrible stadium so just african teams can win in the african league while most stadiums in north africa are up to the standards
@@Wizzy678 It's the truth. Wait, did you say bad hotel food? bad stadium? This males u lose a game? See Messi play at worse pitches lol. Wait, u think everyone is barca and can have camp nou? NA stadiums ain't that good either. Literally South Africa has the largest football stadium itw at 95k, bigger than nou camp, bigger than signal iduna park. Stop projecting.
This is inhumane and very unacceptable, you can't keep an entire team hostage for over 14hrs. It is no longer football, I'm very grateful that they all got back home safely from such a hostile ground!
U started this game and we done it didn't u see what they did for the libyan team?
This really grinded my gears ⚙️. The Libya FA had to resort to petulant mind games to try to get a perceived leg up on the competition. A family friend in Ibadan told me that the Super Eagles were stuck in the Libyan airport (most likely the one in either Misrata or Qaser Bin Ghashir) for nearly 20 hours. I was livid at the Libyan dignitaries and a little at the NFF. Fifa needs to investigate this and place sanctions on the Libya FA 🇱🇾.
Lybia is mess the country is dead after they betrayed ghadafi
NATO
So only one person is capable of running a country and the rest are kids??
I don't even know why they should even play there. Its not safe.
@@usmanjohn3267 so no one else can lead there? 😂
you literally did the same to Libya in the first game....now taste your own medicine
This would never happened to USA or any European team. The disrespected they showed us is unacceptable!
We have to. teach our youths to take back their continent and to ditch their religion
Believe me as a libyan i can promise you no matter what nationality they are, once you disrespect us we will treat you the same way, it’s not about three points it’s about the lack of hospitality
The north Africans especially Algeria, Tunisia and lybia have been so good at playing this very terrible mind game
If CAF makes a mistake and awards the 3 points to Libya 🇱🇾. Nigeria should take CAF to court and will surely win.
The Nigerian government should take this matter up to Fifa and the court of arbitration. This was a hostage situation and should not be taking lightly.
Great Content! Seeing this analysis about AFCON matters on ESPN blows my mind, and you guys did a great job on this. Libya is just becoming worse at handling foreigners issues well. CAF need to treat this matter with great sense of responsibility.
This is definitely a mental tactic from the Libyan FA having no Wi-Fi for 12 hours is torture
One point 3 games.
Libya is much like a failing student who needs someone to fail with.
Nigeria doesn't need the nations cup. The boys need to qualify for the world cup. With our outstanding games the second spot is guaranteed at minimum
@@tochidanthey want to drag others along with them
So they got a call from the president and there where kidnapped against there will to try and intimidate them. Congrats to Nigeria for opposing this treatment of there opponents.
And to add to the garbageness of the ordeal, the Libya national football team really isn't that good on the pitch. All this unprofessionalism for nothing but gain massive reputation damage instead.
A team that spent 2 weeks practicing neymars theatrics of touch and roll.
When they announced initially that they opened camp, people were like wow. This must be a serious team. Not knowing that they simply were chilling in a picnic all those days with their dubious plan.
Forget the match, you are putting people’s lives in serious danger. What if someone decided to down that plane??
The CAF silence on this matter is deafening 😮
Lybia will not even qualify
In Jesus Name Amen 🙏
@@usmanjohn3267 They can never qualify, sitting last in the group with only one point. It would be a miracle for them to qualify. They would need to go away and winning matches too.
@@mamab2937you don't need the in Jesus name. Because it is simply stating the obvious. 3 games 1 point. They are not sure of winning Nigeria if the match has continued. Rwanda and Benin will still win them.
They know they won't, that's why they are being hostile
The bus that eventually showed up is hilarious. The pettiness in AFCON is peak.
This is not typical of Afcon - never happens between black African nations playing against each other - this is typical of North African countries when teams (even clubs) from other parts of Africa travel to play there. Happens often in Tunisia, Algeria. Egypt... Has even led to a plane crash killing the African team years ago who had been denied landing rights and kept in the air without fuel..
@@Otieno-y6e Thanks for the context. It's helpful to learn these sort of nuances. Is it a racially driven animosity?
@@Otieno-y6e yeah tends to be the issue with arab nations in africa they think they better than dark complexion people
@@antoinedoinell There is a great deal of racism towards black people in Arab countries, that's for sure, though Europeans and Americans generally don't seem to know this. But whether such racism has anything to do with these football incidents, I don't know.
@@Otieno-y6e That's unfortunate. The plane crashing is absolutely insane. I hope the federation's step in to put an end to this sort of stuff for good. It's childish, unprofessional and not good for the fans who want to see their teams play. Thanks.
Libya is a failed state ... last I checked there were two governments.
Hmmm now I wonder why that is
Libya is a disgrace.
To be fair, they didn’t exactly bring it upon themselves.
Who did?😏
@@kayodeahmed9412 America
@@macriggland6526 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@macriggland6526 😂😂😂
Politics have no place in World Football 😒
Lol
This was a political game plan thinking the would of win thinking the Nigerian players would of been exhausted on the field
Yeh last gasp effort to qualifyfor 1st ever embarrassmentat WC finals @@java2894
@severinlourenco8355
How do you think World Football gets funding? Through politics. Your comment is like reading a political slogan that has zero meaning. Politics is innately intertwined with football and always has been.
@Photosoflife FIFA politics is different from Nations trying to create a advantage in play.
They even refused to refuel the Nigerian plane b4 leaving to Nigeria and when they finally accepted they had to charge 10 times the actual price. It's all out there.
Stop spreading lies
@@Emran_Lakhboly it’s true
Is true not lies @@Emran_Lakhboly
Shame on Libya 🇱🇾, African football can't develop in this way 🙄
Shame on CAF for allowing this kind of behavior to persist before now
This is absolutely unacceptable by Nigerains and Nigeria Federation. CAF needs to santion failure of "Lybia football federation" for this behaviour towards a foreign football team.
This is ridiculous. This is not the first time Libyan FA is doing this. Something needs to be done. @CAF needs to respond immediately. And @FIFA also needs to get involved. Immediate sanction needs to be level against Libyan FA.
If the North Africans wants to form their own Nations Cup (Arab Nations Cup), I think they should speak up other than doing all of this. Also, this situation speaks volume about the crippling state of Africa and their leadership across all sectors. With such situation, it’s hard to win the bid for the hosting of any global competition. Even the upcoming World Cup that’s been cohosted by an African country, I think FIFA would have to scrutinise them to avoid any form of uncertainties.
in Nigeria, the Libyans of their own accird flew to a different city instead of the city where they were designated to be received by the Nigerian authorities. They messed up the preparations already made to receive them and experienced only an hour delay . They then decided to make a mountain out of a mole hill even though they were the cause of the whole problem in the first place.
SHAME ON LIBYA
worse part is Libya is a war torn country. and they planned on taking them on a road journey of about 5hrs to the stadium.
The Libyan held the Super Eagle hostage, diverted the flight and locked them up. Most North African nations do these antics often.
CAF should forfeit a game like that with the points going to Nigeria. That would make other teams think twice before playing stupid "mind" games
This is BS. Libyans were treated the same way in Nigeria
Walla 😂
Al- shalmani resigned from the presidency of the libyan football federation. That says it all😅
The resignation happened before the incident his resignation has nothing to do with what happened to Nigerian team
@@joshuabidemi6050how are you sure that he did not resign after seeing their plan😅
@@joshuabidemi6050it's has everything to do with this mess, most of just don't dig deep to know what really happened. Nigerian team was already airborne to Libya when he resigned. Reports said he resigned at about 7pm Libyan time while the Nigerian aircraft was scheduled to touchdown in Bengazi by 8pm Libyan time the same night. The man said he didn't wanna be a part of something that will kill Libyan sports meaning he's already aware of the plans ahead but resigned b4 the Nigerian team touched down. Go read his statement.
Nigeria beat Lybia 4-0 before loosing in Nigeria 1-0. I guess that last defeat hit them hard and from then on they all lost their minds and switched to terror mode
THEY ARE STILL TERRORISTS ARE THEY NOT ARABS?
Argentina should’ve boycotted that last match in Venezuela that was on a completely flooded pitch. The ball wouldn’t even roll. Total disgrace.
The only time y'all talk about African football is when there's problems
Will Obi Mikel comment about this since he was so very vocal in questioning why some players with African ancestry chose to play for non-African nations.
I know there are some arguments about this being revenge for similar things done in Nigeria but to me it's irrelevant. Anyone who watched African football in the past knows the games played by host nations whenever another African team came to play a game, whether it be continental club competitions or national teams. Delays at the airports, long bus trips, poor training facilities etc. I thought this nonsense would have come to an end but here we are. Yes it's better now but it really shouldn't happen especially when there is no political hostility between the nations.
The fact that they would rarely ever do this to non-African teams is part of a much bigger issue with the mindset within Africa. And it goes beyond football. Even in just general life, travelling between African nations can be a nightmare especially for Africans. Fingers crossed such a high profile incident is the one of the many steps to be taken in fixing this issue across the continent. As usual there will be excuses and defenders of such practices but that's par for the course sadly.
Just seal ur dirty mouth on Mikel. Was he lying when he said players should step up. And it's true. Jackson got to step up. Just like Enzo, Mudryk, and defenders. This same people were criticized by Mikel. You just shut ur silly mouth and build yourself based on acceptable standards and goals. If Jackson makes more money from putting in the work, will he give me or Mikel money earned? Just sthu
No similar things were done to them in Nigeria. They flew to Port Harcourt on their own accord instead of Uyo, the city hosting the match.
Same thing in South Africa
The Nigerian team was held hostage by the Libyan FA and the Libyan government.
That's a terrorist act.
Lybia said we can go band for band 😂😂
sharing someone else's comment in this same thread, FYI: I've noticed a pattern in this comment section of other North Africans justifying what Libya did to the Nigerian players by saying, "...Nigeria did same to the Libyans." The simple answer to that is it is not true.
Libya landed their own chartered plane in Portharcourt, of their own volition, despite the match scheduled to take place in Uyo, which is a 1-hour drive from Portharcourt. There was no reason given by the Libyan Federation for landing in Portharcourt. The Nigerians had buses waiting at the Uyo Airport for the Libyans. The Libyans completely refused to fly to Uyo, which is only a 15-minute flight as the two cities are very close. They insisted on driving to Uyo in their own buses without air conditioning. They waited at the Port Harcourt Airport for 3-4 hours for these buses to move them to Uyo. All I've said above are verifiable facts from online and real-life sources.
How does that justify putting the Nigerian players at risk for 14 hours in an abandoned airport? Is there no formal way of reporting their grievances to CAF about their perceived maltreatment in Nigeria? Can you all just stop with the whole "..they were maltreated in Nigeria, so they paid back" bulls**t?
They knew they were gonna lose the match and decided to go down this dangerous path of stupidity.... Rubbish
Go band for band on the pitch. Not a concocted scenario you play in your head. Delusion
Libya should be fighting wars and not playing football
Where's Colin Udoh?
I never liked libya.....a very terrible country after the death of Gadafi......no human feelings in that country 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
Good analysis from espn👏
No food for that long is punishment
Nigeria did the same to Libya and South Africa
Lybia a conflict country why play matches there
This is shocking! Only Hamas and Hezo can treat a football team like this!
Nigerian authorities took the right decision, Libya shows no spirit of sportsmanship
This isn't mind games its torture
It is easy to allowed Ghana and Sudan to land the same Airport, but premeditated to denying Nigeria 🇳🇬 on whatever tactics they want to use just to have competitive advantage. You can't treat Nigeria 🇳🇬 that way. I think Libyan don't believe this can escalated this way.
A ban should be appropriate
ESPN you're clueless! Nigeria did the exact thing to Libya just last week but zero mention of this lol! They kept Libyan players and authorities trapped in the airport for 12 plus hours with no food, internet or drinks. Then proceeded to take through gang terrority where 2 supersport reporters died just last week. Shame on you acting like Libya did this to Nigeria for no reason haha! Why didnt this happen to any other team in Libya? Go ask Rwanda, go ask Mauritus etc! You get treated how you treat others! Karma! This isnt the first time Nigeria have done this either- ask south africa! Dont start crying now when you started it hypocrites!
They didn't do anything in Nigeria so stop with the Caps. Libya has been doing this since CAF Champions League format so I don't understand why anyone would be astonished
Nigerians did the same thing to South Africa at some point.
Can you substantiate your allegations with facts please?
Hehehe!! Simply, do your investigation, so that even children will not laugh at your lack of information!
What the Libyan government did to the Super Eagles players is despicable and they know what they're doing. You can't treat our players the same way you treat Nigerians that come to Libya for greener pastures. This is totally unacceptable and AFCON has to sanction Libya for their heinous crime. What nonsense!!
Zambia once went to play a qualifier against Ghana, there flight was diverted to an Airport 400km away, after which they were made to come to the City in which the game would be played by Road. It didn't end there, they were not given access to any training facilities and they had to train in the Car park of the Hotel at which they were staying. Even after Zambia lodged in a complaint, CAF took no action, not even the proverbial slap on the wrist.
Liyabians wants to mess with Nigerians on soccer game, bring it on!!! 14 hours of waiting!! Game over!!!
Disqualify and fine them. Other countries trying these tactics will learn them!!
As I am watcher to this this program ESPN should bring the other side of the story when Libyan football team had to Waite hrs and hrs in Nigeria and what opened to them there with more disrespect than this
Wait hours and hours as what.... As Brazil or Argentina or france that you are right? ... Get your information straight before spilling rubbish.. The Nigeria i know treats foreigners with respect more than its citizens.... Its on record unlike Libya
@@judec1990 respect Libyan they will respect you back doesn’t matter if we are good in football or not by saying Barzail or Argentina that show level of disrespect
What the Libyans complained of in Nigeria was mostly of their own making. There was no deliberate plan to play mind games by the Nigerian authorities. However what they did to the Nigerian team was deliberate and atrocious.
@@iykeharrison9161 same thing happens from both nations you saying is not deliberate but actually it is so be fair both made the same mistake
'What opened to them there'...even your keyboard no agree with ur brain...they for turn go back home nah....mofo
FA's in Africa always do this, you'll fly in and they will move a match to another stadium further away and all that other stuff, but leaving players without food or water for 12 hours and them staying on those airport seats is an absolute disgrace
Yeah whatever it is is not worth risking it
How did CAF permit a war-torn country to host a match?
What??? Call CAF then…
Nigeria tested their own thing they do to other countries.
I stand with Libyan in this one Nigeria did the same in the previous round this is just payback
Stand well ooo
What did Nigeria do to Lybia? Lybia decided to land at wrong airport and take a road trip and rejected Nigeria Police escort. How the heck is it Nigeri's fault?
Simply because you are an Ibrahim, so you do not care that they landed at the wrong Nigerian airport on purpose! someone else's response in this same thread: I've noticed a pattern in this comment section of other North Africans justifying what Libya did to the Nigerian players by saying, "...Nigeria did same to the Libyans." The simple answer to that is it is not true.
Libya landed their own chartered plane in Portharcourt, of their own volition, despite the match scheduled to take place in Uyo, which is a 1-hour drive from Portharcourt. There was no reason given by the Libyan Federation for landing in Portharcourt. The Nigerians had buses waiting at the Uyo Airport for the Libyans. The Libyans completely refused to fly to Uyo, which is only a 15-minute flight as the two cities are very close. They insisted on driving to Uyo in their own buses without air conditioning. They waited at the Port Harcourt Airport for 3-4 hours for these buses to move them to Uyo. All I've said above are verifiable facts from online and real-life sources.
How does that justify putting the Nigerian players at risk for 14 hours in an abandoned airport? Is there no formal way of reporting their grievances to CAF about their perceived maltreatment in Nigeria? Can you all just stop with the whole "..they were maltreated in Nigeria, so they paid back" bulls**t?
They knew they were gonna lose the match and decided to go down this dangerous path of stupidity.... Rubbish
Standing machine... stand alone...make I ask you, since your birth is this the first time u are standing for something? Cos ur enthusiasm on letting us know was obvious 😂😂
@@mickinetsystems looks like you heard this story from your media wrong the Nigeria disrespect the Libyan national team
I have seen comments saying Nigeria did the same. And you didn't hear about it until now?
@@uplifting_sounds Same here too. Abegi forget about the South Africans crying me a river. Bcos we didn't serve them ice cream on their arrival so we have committed a sin.
You said you have seen comments, did you try to fact check? It was Libya's fault that they chose to land in another capital instead of Uyo where NFF have scheduled for them. It was their choice through there logistics. Even the bus they used to get to the state where they were scheduled to play was arranged by their FA not Nigeria which turned out not to have AC. JUst as we arrived Libya with our bus already waiting for us at the scheduled location.
We did not even deny them food, water or wifi. please Nigeria is not as wicked as you, we are hospitable in nature and stop bringing in South Africa into the conversation 😂😂😂😂
It's black slave South Africans and Ghanaians all over the place for engagements
Libyans and South Africans are the ones spreading those lies
You didn't even talk about the small rickety 8 seater bus to convey a twenty something man squad. And yes they have been doing this to our club sides for ages only this time they took it up notches higher. We are glad our boys are back. They should give them the 3 points too if they want it this bad. CAF must sanction Libya appropriately. We don't want to be in a group where there's a Libya in future. Nonsense !
Let be honest Nigeria is done it first
Disqualify Libya from the match.. award Nigeria the game and points. Next time this happens (intentional or not) Libya should be banned for 5 years from CAF competition.
Few months back Nigerians did the same thing to Libya.
@@sideshow22few months back,you see ur life??😠🙄🙄
@@ugochionyeugo3369 . Taste your own medicine
indeed what goes around comes back around they once deed it to kenya some years back when kenya visited nigeria how painful its for them now to cry now it is now coming back to hunt them what a shame
What are you talking about!! Please, do your investigations first!
Are you ok? Why u no get sense?
Just shut up!!!
Ur are a coward for saying that crack s
Libya FF & govt were terrible, treating Nigerian players and officials so inhumanely and endangering their lives, for almost 20 hours. FIFA should get CAF to fine Libya heavily.
Libya should forfeit 3 points and 3 goals plus a hefty fine.
It's beyond sports...
Ghana Black Stars are playing in libya now with sudan team,they were treated good
When Nigeria does this to other countries no one says anything but now because it happened to Nigeria and they have international players it is now wrong? Don't be biased, report the truth. Nigeria did this to South Africa and they did again with Libya last week.
Talking foolishly, do your research before opening your mouth
South Africans eh... these are not the ppl Mandela fought for...he must be disappointed in how weak you have become...mofo
@@Justrenq why don't you disprove him instead of the standard, "do your research?"
It does not take much, respond with facts and that will shut someone up.
@@mo_0912 can't waste my time typing but I'll just do it.
Libya was never given I'll treatment, our match against Libya in Nigeria which everyone knew it will be played in uyo including Libya but they chose to land in porthacourt due to some financial issues. Also note that they informed nff an hour after they have left. But it was petty for them to sit on the flour because our pH airport was recently renovated and has facilities but because they chose to land in pH they have to go through normal protocols there. After they protocols they left for uyo which Nigeria provided all necessary things. Security bus name it. They chose to be petty and we are always bigger than that.
This is what I heard...
That arrangement was made for them at Uyo airport, the city for the game... But they informed NFF very late for their arrival and they flew to Port Harcourt,....
Nff asked them to fly to Uyo from Port Harcourt with the same flight,they refused..
They chose to make plan for their own bus to travel on land to Uyo ...
They are angry that the bus has no Ac... They were check by the police at check point....
Whose fault is that?
So diverting a plane in libya, to an abandoned airport, no food, for 12 hours ? That's terrorism!!!
Kind of like 15 minutes of extra time in a Real Madrid Champions league final when you're up by two goals.
Gaddafi must be angry in another world
Lol did you hear what Nigeria did on the return leg?
Please explain what Nigeria did.
@@sakirusolarin5405 Nigeria did thee same.... the only difference is Libya didn't have international stars who the world listens to when they post on social media
Please post what Nigerians did we want to know... Did we divert your flight to an abandoned area? Did we cut off communication from you?were your players given security and good hotels to sleep in? Please i want to know what exactly Nigeria did..... This is not the first time we are hosting countries internationally.... If we want to play mind games we will play with high ranked teams not with Libya... Infact NIGERIA is even making the world know about Libya because nobody care about you guys in the first place
@@tawandahomero2913please show evidence to support your claim. So we know you aren't a liar, I assume your from SA, and we know south Africans lie a lot. So please show evidence.
WE WILL WAIT AND IF YOU DON'T RESPOND YOU HAVE PROVEN MY POINT!
@sakiru!! Bros u are wrong. The truth is all over the internet. Get your facts right before drawing conclusions. We did them nothing. Libya cannot even qualify if CAF DASH THEM THE 3 POINTS AT SAKE. Our boys could have lost their lives in that thrashy airport used occasionally to convey people to hajj.
bring back Gadhaffi libya is now a problem in africa
No food or anything to make the wait comfortable? It was definitely planned and they should be fined by AFCON and FIFA. That’s borderline kidnapping.