NFF, LFF trade blames over Mediterranean Knights’ ‘poor treatment’ claims

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has rejected claims of poor treatment on arrival in Nigeria made by the captain of the Libya senior men’s national team, Faisal Al-Badri.

According to a Libyan news outlet, Addresslibya, Al-Badri claimed on his Facebook page that Nigerian officials frustrated what should have been a smooth travelling experience for the Libyan team.

“We left the hotel at 6.00 a.m., and the plane took off at nine. The flight took four hours, and thus we arrived in Nigeria at one in the afternoon, Libyan time.”

Continuing, he said:  “Our luggage was searched inside the plane for an hour, and we were also delayed in transportation from one city to another for three hours, even though we travelled on a private plane, and there was an airport close to the city we wanted to play in.

“We later contacted the company responsible for transporting and securing the mission, but they informed us that there was no police patrol at the time, which increased the risk.

“After a long time, three non-air-conditioned minibuses and a police car arrived, in addition to two cars from the Libyan embassy.” He alleged that the mission faced a road full of checkpoints and parking lots, took non-main roads, entered forests, and returned to unpaved roads in complete darkness, “following each other by the lights of vehicles.”

He also said that the journey took five hours in an atmosphere full of danger, and arrived at the hotel in the late hours of the night, not to mention the hotel’s conditions.

“This is not the first time we have been maltreated in Africa,” Badri added. “The question is, how long will we continue to receive this kind of reception? While other teams are received in the best airports and hotels, should we always be patient in the face of these things?”

Al-Badri added: “We have suffered from this problem for many years, and although we are willing to tolerate it, there must be a solution to these practices. We demand that the relevant authorities look into these actions, and we express the need for reciprocity.”

Reacting to the allegation, NFF’s Assistant Director (Protocol), Emmanuel Ayanbunmi, said that the Libyan Football Federation only informed it that its team was landing in Port Harcourt, and not Uyo, only three hours before the team’s arrival on Tuesday.

“I spoke to the General Secretary of LFF, at length, on Monday, October 7 and he never hinted that his team would be arriving on Tuesday (the following day). He only said he would get back to me, but he never did. On Monday evening, someone sent as an advance party by the LFF called me and said his team would be arriving on Tuesday by noon. We made all arrangements to receive the team in Uyo on arrival.”

“It was only an hour after the team was airborne that he told me the delegation would be landing in Port Harcourt. That disrupted so many things, but we still raced on hurdles to get approval from federal authorities to allow their plane to fly them to Uyo once they concluded immigration formalities in Port Harcourt. 

“That would have meant the additional cost to the LFF from the charter company, and they didn’t want that, so they preferred to travel from Port Harcourt to Uyo by road.”Ayanbunmi added that the Libyan delegation jettisoned road transportation arrangements made for them by the NFF and instead hired buses on their own.

“If they travelled on buses that were not air-conditioned, that had nothing to do with the NFF as they hired their buses. We provided security for them, with men and vehicles in front and behind their buses, so we are unmoved about their complaints and threats.”