South Sudan Players Left Stranded at Libyan Airport Ahead of World Cup Qualifier
- The Libyans have struck again with their backhanded tactics of mistreating opponents ahead of games
- Libyan authority mistreated South Sudan national team at the airport before their qualifier match
- The North African country held Nigeria and Benin Republic hostage in different games in 2024
Libya have proved that they did not learn from last year's sanctions after again mistreating the South Sudan national football team at the airport days ago.
Libya fell into the net of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) just a year after holding the Super Eagles of Nigeria hostage at Al Abraq International Airport in October.
Source: Twitter
CAF awarded Nigeria three points and three goals and fined Libya $50,000 for the incident, which subsequently limited their chances of qualifying for AFCON 2025.
A month later, the Libyans held Benin Republic hostage at the Tripoli International Stadium and a policeman punched Gernot Rohr in the face after his team secured a draw.
Libya mistreat South Sudan
Sudan are set to host South Sudan in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier African series matchday six but situations have risen between the two countries.
Sudan play their home games in Libya and their neighbours arrived in the country without their Sudanese counterparts who should have received them.
This led the Libyan immigration authorities to seize the passport the of the South Sudanese contingents and leave them stranded at the Martyrs of February Stadium, Benina.
The South Sudan Football Association (SSFA) published a statement on social media explaining the experience of their players and staff.
“A footage of Bright Star stranded for staggering three hours at Benina International Airport, Benghazi Libya,” the statement reads.
“When the representatives of the Sudanese Football Association failed to turn up at their reception. The passports of the delegation were seized by the Libyan Migration authority.”
Football fans, particularly Nigerians, reacted to the incident by calling for stricter measures on Libya.
@bolaji6368 replied:
“Libya again, several nations have complained about their hostility yet @CAF_Online and @FIFAcom hasn't taken any proactive measure to sanction them or ensure they play their home games elsewhere.”
Source: Twitter
@akech_andrew replied:
“CAF needs to look at the issue of Libya and gives it full attention because this is going to continue if not attended to. There have been human trafficking going on there and now it's national teams that are going through it. How long are we going to watch this?”
@realist_twinee replied:
“@CAF_Online @CAF_Media the Libya 🇱🇾 FA should be banned from entertaining football matches in Libya . People thought Nigerians were telling, especially South Africans. Now you can see another country complaining about the way Libya FA treated their opponents.”
@Paul_etal replied:
“I'm really surprised that CAF has allowed Libya to still be hosting football matches in their country despite the recent incident with the Super Eagles of 🇳🇬”
Angola players celebrate in Libya
Legit.ng reported that Angolan players celebrated after they were cleared at Libyan airport in Benghazi and they danced their way into their team hotel.
The Libyans are notorious for mistreating international opponents as in the case of the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Cheetahs of Benin Republic in 2024.
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Source: Legit.ng
