CAPE TOWN, Oct 26 (Reuters) – Nigeria have been awarded a 3-0 win over Libya, and three vital points, from their scheduled Africa Cup of Nations qualifier earlier this month which they refused to play after being stuck at a remote Libyan airport half a day before the match.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) Disciplinary Committee on Saturday awarded the match to Nigeria 3-0, putting them on the brink of qualifying for next year’s finals as they sit top of Group D.

The three points took Nigeria to 10 with two games to play, four ahead of second-placed Benin and five ahead of Rwanda. Libya have a single point from four matches and are in last place. The top two teams in the group qualify for the 2025 final in Morocco.

Nigeria had refused to play the match in Benghazi on October 15, citing ill-treatment on arrival in the country some 48 hours before the scheduled kick-off.

They said they had no access to food or water and no contact from Libyan officials during the episode, and they decided to fly back to Nigeria rather than complete the match.

Libya’s football federation said the incident was not intentional, adding that their players had also faced travel difficulties when they played in Nigeria four days earlier.

But CAF found that Libya breached competition rules which stipulate that visiting teams must be properly received by the host association, which must see them through entry formalities and put a bus at their disposal.

CAF said Nigeria were awarded the match 3-0 and Libya had been fined $50,000.

Libya had previously complained about the treatment of their players and officials on arrival in Nigeria for their qualifier in Uyo on October 11, when their flight landed hours away from the venue and the players endured long travel delays.

Nigeria won that match 1-0. Their treatment ahead of the scheduled return leg four days later was seen as a measure of moderation and was widely condemned across the continent as Libya took the gamesmanship a step too far.

It also highlighted the consistent poor treatment visiting sides face when playing around Africa – in both national and club competitions.

CAF president Patrice Motsepe said earlier this week that his organization was looking at tightening rules and regulations to deter poor treatment of visiting teams.

African football is notorious for poor treatment of visiting teams, with common tricks being delays going through immigration on arrival, cumbersome and long bus journeys and the allocation of poor training facilities.

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