Nigeria refuses to play: "The team has seen through the bluff"

Nigeria's national football team refuses to play Tuesday's qualifying match for the African Championship against Libya. The reason is that the team has been stuck at a deserted airport since Sunday.

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Nigeria refuses to play: "The team has seen through the bluff"
Photo: Themba Hadebe/AP/TT

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The team captain William Troost-Ekong tells in social media that they were offered a three-hour bus ride to the playing venue, but declined due to security reasons.

"Let them have the points (for winning the match). We do not accept to travel on the roads here because it is not safe. You can imagine what kind of hotels or what kind of food they would give us if we continue", says Troost-Ekong.

The Nigerian Football Association is now trying to find an alternative for the return journey.

Nigeria's chartered flight was redirected when it was about to land in Benghazi, where the match was supposed to be played, since the Libyan government did not approve the landing permit. Instead, it landed at a deserted airport where the doors are locked and there was neither food nor drink.

One of the team leaders Victor Ikpeba, who won Olympic gold in Atlanta in 1996, thinks that Libya should be excluded from international football.

It is a high-risk country and one wonders who allowed them to play their home matches in the country. The team has seen through their bluff and will not play the match, he says to AFP.

A formal complaint has been sent to the African Football Association. Nigeria defeated Libya 1-0 at home in Uyo on Friday and leads the qualifying group where Libya is last.

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By TTEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for local and international readers

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