Troost-Ekong called the situation “disgraceful” and accused the Libyan authorities of playing “mind games” in a series of tweets sent out early on Monday morning.
After the Super Eagles were ignored at Al Abaq Airport on Sunday for more than 12 hours, Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong blasted the Libyan authorities for their poor handling of the team.
Prior to their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, the senior football men’s team was supposed to arrive in Benghazi. However, they were diverted to Al Abaq, where they have been detained inexplicably.
He claims that the team is being held captive in an abandoned airport with no access to water, food, or telephone service.”After our plane was diverted while descending, we spent more than twelve hours in an abandoned airport in Libya. Without any justification, the Libyan government cancelled our authorised landing in Benghazi. We are left without food, drink, or a phone connection because they have locked the airport gates. All to play mind games.
I’ve experienced issues before while playing away in Africa, but this is disgraceful behaviour,” he wrote.
He also bemoaned the challenges encountered by the Tunisian pilot, who was able to make the last-minute destination change but was then denied lodging for his crew on government orders.The Nigerian crew members were forced to sleep on the plane because they were not permitted to stay at the airport, whereas the pilot was allowed to rest.He wrote, “This was something our pilot, a Tunisian, had never seen before, even if he was lucky enough to navigate the last-minute change to an airport unfit for our plane to land.”/
Once more on orders from the government, he attempted to locate a nearby hotel to rest with his crew but was turned away from each one. There was room for him to sleep, but no room for Nigerian crew members. Now that the plane is parked, they have gone back to sleep, Troost-Ekong continued.He vowed, “We will NOT play this game,” and he urged the Nigerian government to step in and save the team that was stranded.When our adversaries are visiting Nigeria, we treat them with the same respect as ourselves. While mistakes do happen, there is no connection between these intentional acts and international football.
After winning 1-0 in the first leg in Uyo on Friday, the Super Eagles had originally travelled to Libya for the second leg of their AFCON qualifying match against the Mediterranean Knights.