CAF will punish any country that violates statutes, says Motsepe

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has warned that any country that violates CAF’s statutes on the treatment of visiting teams will be severely dealt with according to the laws of the confederation.

President of the body, Patrice Motsepe, who said he has received numerous reports on how some countries employ unacceptable methods to gain advantage over visiting teams, warned that CAF will no longer tolerate such behaviours.

Speaking in Ethiopia, venue of CAF’s 46th Ordinary Assembly, he said Nigeria’s experience in Libya ahead of the botched 2025 Africa Cup of Nations last week is being investigated by an appropriate body, which will sanction any party found guilty of bringing the game to disrepute.

Nigeria petitioned CAF over their inhumane treatment by Libyan authorities, who detained the country’s delegation to the October 15 encounter for over 16 hours without food, water and means of communication.

CAF has referred the case to its disciplinary committee, which is meeting in Cairo, Egypt, today.

Referring to the case, Motsepe emphasised CAF’s commitment to accountability in such matters, although he did not dwell on the Libya, Nigeria case.

He said: “I will not comment on that because there is a proper investigation (going on), but I want to emphasise the principle we will not tolerate. Because this is something that has been going on for quite some time. Forget about the Nigeria-Libya situation because it has been properly investigated and appropriate action will be taken.

“I have heard too many stories of a football club or a national team going to a country. You spend hours at the airport and they ask you about documents that is not meant to be accessed. And apparently during COVID, they will look at the 10 best players from your team and say those players have COVID. These are lack of sportsmanship behaviours that have existed and we have not taken effective action.”

The CAF disciplinary committee is expected to come up with its verdict on the botched Libya versus Nigeria match this week.

Earlier, when the Super Eagles were still detained in Libya, CAF in a statement said that “the matter has been referred to the CAF Disciplinary Board for investigation, and appropriate action will be taken against those who violated the CAF Statutes and Regulations.”

The body had also in a separate statement during the saga, said: “The Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF) has been in contact with the Libyan and Nigerian authorities after it had been informed that the Nigerian National Football Team (Super Eagles) and their technical team were stranded in disturbing conditions for several hours at an airport that they were allegedly instructed to land by the Libyan authorities.

“The matter has been referred to the CAF Disciplinary Board for investigation and appropriate action will be taken against those who violated the CAF Statutes and Regulations.”