Motsepe, however, added that he will not speak further on the saga because it is currently under investigation
By Kehinde Okeowo
The President of the Confederation of Africa (CAF), Patrice Motsepe, has disclosed that the African football governing body has “zero tolerance” for the kind of treatment allegedly meted out to Super Eagles of Nigeria by the Libyan authorities.
He made this known during a press conference where he spoke about the incident for the first time.
Nigeria were scheduled to play against Libya in the return leg of an Africa Cup of Nations Cup (AFCON) qualifier on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.
They, however, opted not to play the match after they were held hostage for over 14 hours at the airport.
The team’s flight to Benghazi, where the match was supposed to take place, was diverted to a smaller airport just as the pilot was completing his approach to the Benghazi Airport.
Reacting to the development, Motsepe condemned the incident, but insisted that he would not speak further on the saga until CAF has reached a final decision.
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He said, “We should have zero tolerance. When there was this problem of the Nigerian national team in Libya, I will not comment on that because there is a proper investigation.
“But I want to emphasise a principle that we will not tolerate. This is something that has been going on for quite some time. Forget about the Libya vs Nigeria situation; forget about that; appropriate action will be taken.
“I have heard too many stories about a football club or national team that goes to a country. You spend hours at the airport, and they ask you about documents that don’t exist. Apparently, during COVID, they would look at the best players and then say those ten players have got COVID.
“But it is this lack of sportsmanship that has existed, and we haven’t taken effective action. We are reviewing those laws, and we want to emphasise sportsmanship.”