Former Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President and FIFA Council member Amaju Pinnick has revealed that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) is expected to deliver its ruling on the Super Eagles’ Libya ordeal within the next 48 hours.
Pinnick disclosed this during his appearance on Arise News programme The Morning Show on Thursday.
“CAF is taking this issue very seriously,” Pinnick said. “Today, tomorrow we will have the final result.”
Pinnick, who represented Nigeria at the CAF hearing in Addis Ababa on Tuesday, accused the Libyan delegation of unsportsmanlike behavior towards the Super Eagles during the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Group D qualifier. According to Sports Village Square, Pinnick’s accusations were supported by delegates including Senegalese Augustin Senghor, Cameroonian Seidou Mbombo Njoya, and Sierra Leonean Isha Johansen.
Libya was represented at the sitting by CAF Executive Committee member Abdul Hakim Al-Shalmani, a former president of the Libya Football Federation (LFF).
Pinnick praised CAF President Patrice Motsepe for his leadership and integrity in handling the case.
“CAF President, Patrice Motsepe, personifies integrity and Pan-Africanism. We deliberated on it in our executive committee meeting. It was a subject of intense discussion,” Pinnick added.
This case stems from the Super Eagles’ ordeal on October 15, when their plane was diverted to Al-Abraq Airport instead of Benghazi and the team was held for nearly 20 hours without food or water. The Nigerian government ordered the withdrawal of the Super Eagles from the match due to safety concerns.
CAF had given both the NFF and the Libya Football Federation until October 20 to submit reports on the incident, and Bold Sports earlier reported that the NFF submitted its documents ahead of the deadline. CAF’s final ruling is now awaited.