Super Eagles defender, Kenneth Omeruo has strongly criticized the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for allowing Libya to host their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers on home soil.[โฆ]CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLEโถ
Recall that the Super Eagles were held hostage for over 20 hours in Libya after their flight was diverted to a small airport during their trip before the second leg of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers, scheduled for last Tuesday.
In an interview with Arise TV, Omeruo recounted a similar experience during his time with Nigeria’s U-20 team.
โIt was crazy because actually I had a similar situationโฆ when we were playing in under 20 and we didnโt know there was going to be a war situation and we flew there to play. By the end, we got out and then we saw on TV that there were actually riots happening in Benghazi,โ he said.
Reflecting on the current situation, he expressed disbelief that CAF allowed games to proceed in Libya.
โFor me, I think it was terrible. I didnโt even know Libya had to play their games there because I know the country is not at peace until now. So I think it was a wrong decision by CAF to let them play their home games in Libya,โ Omeruo stated.
โThe crazy one was even diverting the flight. Itโs so dangerous. Itโs so dangerous and Iโm just happy they are back and they are safe for real.โ
Omeruo called for player welfare to be prioritised especially in uncertain situations like this.
โI think itโs very important for us as Nigerians to at least have a delegate travel before the gameโฆ With that, the players will feel safe and everything will be more organised.โ
โIf someone was there in Libya, they would have gotten the information beforehandโฆ They could try to fight this situation before the players actually board the flight to travel,โ Omeruo addedโฆCLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES>>>