Two former African Footballers of the Year, Emmanuel Adebayor of Togo and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang of Gabon, have condemned the actions of the Libyan authorities who subjected the Super Eagles of Nigeria to inhumane treatment at the Al Abaq Airport. Adebayor was the African Footballer of the Year in 2008 while Aubameyang won the 2015 edition.
Local authorities left the Nigerian contingents unattended for more than 15 hours after they arrived on Sunday night.
Players were seen sleeping on the bench, and the team’s doctors raised concerns over their health ahead of the match.
Adebayor, a legend of African football and Arsenal wrote on X-platform:
“Nigerian Super Eagles were stranded at a Libyan airport, locked in without food, wi-fi, or a place to sleep after their flight was diverted.
“This type of behaviour is unacceptable for the progress of African football. No team should face such treatment. We stand with Nigeria’s Super Eagles.
“Respect and fair play must come first on and off the field.”
His Gabonese counterpart, Aubameyang, who also played for Arsenal, said that the Libyan action should not happen in 2024. He wrote on X:
“Anyway that is not possible in 2024 acting like that.”
In a related development, the cheerleader of Nigerian football, Dr. Raufu Ladipo, told newsmen; “It is a big shame that an African country will treat our Super Eagles this way. It is barbaric. If they could do this to our team, one could imagine what they would have done to members of the supporters club. It is high time CAF and indeed, FIFA takes a very serious look and takes a decision that will serve as deterrent to forestall future occurrence”.
