As the Disciplinary Committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) prepares to announce its decision regarding the recent incident involving Nigeria and Libya, CAF President Patrice Motsepe has issued a stern warning to African nations and clubs about the unacceptable treatment of visiting teams.
Motsepe spoke during a media briefing at the CAF 46th Ordinary General Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, highlighting the serious nature of the situation.
This comes in the wake of a troubling incident where the Nigerian national team, three-time African champions, endured more than 15 hours at Al Abraq Airport without food or water while awaiting their match against Libya for the AFCON 2025 qualifiers, ultimately leading to the game’s cancellation.
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The CAF President emphasized that strict consequences will be enforced for any country that violates CAF regulations, underscoring the importance of respectful conduct in football.
“I have heard too many stories of a football club or national team going to a country. You spend hours at the airport, and they ask you about documents.
“Apparently, during COVID, they would look at who the best players are from your team and say those 10 players have COVID-19. You tell them that you have just been tested, and they say no, you have COVID.
“But it’s this lack of sportsmanship that has existed, and we haven’t taken effective action. If there are violations of those regulations and rules, we will take action.
“So, I just want to repeat, we are proud of those nations that treat visiting teams and football clubs with the respect and dignity that they deserve.
“But also who treats them in the same way that they want to be treated when they visit those clubs. We are reviewing those laws, and we want to emphasise sportsmanship,” he said.
Motsepe clarified that he couldn’t comment specifically on the Nigeria/Libya situation because it is currently under investigation by CAF’s Disciplinary Board.
“When there was a problem with the Nigerian national team in Libya. I will not comment on that because there is a proper investigation.
“But I want to emphasise that we will not tolerate it because this is something that has been going on for some time.
“Let me emphasise, forget about the Nigeria and Libya situation because that process of being properly investigated and appropriate action will be taken,” he said.
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