By Pascal Ibe
As each nation has continued to justify what happened two days ago at the Al Abraq Airport in Libya, there are claims that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) imposed a $10m fine and a 2-year ban on Libyan national team.
Social media users also claimed that the AFCON game between the Super Eagles and the Mediterranean Knights was moved to a neural stadium in Angola by CAF.
Recall that the Nigerian team had flown into Libya on Sunday afternoon for the second leg of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying Group D fixture against Libya, only to be subjected to inhumane treatment upon arrival.
The Nigerian contingent was caged at the airport for over 20 hours without food or water and completely shut out of the world.
Although the Libyan Football Federation has denied any form of mistreatment on the Nigerian team, the Super Eagles have pulled out of the match which is supposed to take place on 15 October.
The claims which have gone viral on Facebook WhatsApp groups and X, stated, “CAF OFFICIALLY RESCHEDULES THE ABANDONED MATCH BETWEEN LIBYA AND NIGERIA FOR MARCH 2025
“THE AFRICAN FOOTBALL BODY SANCTIONS LIBYA $10M FOR DAMAGES AFTER THEIR ILL TREATMENT OF SUPER EAGLES PLAYERS AND STAFF AT THE AIRPORT“
“The fixture is set to be held in Angola, as Libya is banned from playing home from now till 2026.“
You can find this claim here, here, and here.
Verifying This Claim
First, the claims that CAF slammed a two-year ban, imposed $10m on Libya’s team, and moved the game to a neural stadium (ground) in Angola cannot be found on either the official website or the X account of the African football governing body as of Wednesday night.
The last press statement by CAF concerning the Nigeria/Libya row on 15 October, stated that “the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 Qualifier fixture between Libya and Nigeria will not take place as scheduled tonight.“
“The matter will be referred to the competent CAF bodies.“
An enquiry sent to CAF communications via communications@cafonline.com had not been responded to as of the time of writing this check.
Also, no credible news organization in Africa has authoritatively confirmed these claims to be true.
Verdict
These claims are FALSE.
