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.
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.
“It was crazy because actually I had a similar situation… when we were playing in under 20 and we didn’t 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,” he said.
Reflecting on the current situation, he expressed disbelief that CAF allowed games to proceed in Libya.
“For me, I think it was terrible. I didn’t 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,” Omeruo stated.
“The crazy one was even diverting the flight. It’s so dangerous. It’s so dangerous and I’m just happy they are back and they are safe for real.”
Omeruo called for player welfare to be prioritised especially in uncertain situations like this.
“I think it’s very important for us as Nigerians to at least have a delegate travel before the game… With that, the players will feel safe and everything will be more organised.”
“If someone was there in Libya, they would have gotten the information beforehand… They could try to fight this situation before the players actually board the flight to travel,” Omeruo added.
