Nigeria's clash with Libya has been called off after their players claimed they were left stranded at an airport in the country for hours with no food or drink.
The two teams faced off in Nigeria in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Friday, with the Super Eagles winning 1-0 courtesy of Fissayo Dele-Bashiru's late strike.
However, Libya said they faced 'poor treatment' surrounding that game and ahead of the return match on Tuesday, Nigeria's stars were left fuming - with Leicester star Wilfred Ndidi even claiming the players were being held 'hostage' - before they revealed they would boycott the match in protest.
Reports in Africa had claimed that Nigeria's chartered flight - which was headed to the city of Benghazi - was diverted to Al-Abraq Airport by the Libyan government while it was in the air, with the squad subsequently prevented from leaving the airport.
Al-Abraq Airport is still about three hours away from Benghazi and Nigeria's squad were left stranded for hours, with several players making staggering claims of mistreatment.
Nigeria's clash with Libya has been called off after their squad were left stranded in an airport
Nigeria's flight was said to be diverted from the city of Benghazi to Al-Abraq Airport by the Libyan government, with their squad subsequently prevented from leaving
The players were left with no food or drink for hours and made several claims of mistreatment
And, later on Monday morning, the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) revealed they would be boycotting the match in protest.
In a statement they said: 'The delegation of Nigeria to Tuesday’s 2025 AFCON qualifier against Libya still remained at the Al-Abraq Airport 12 hours after landing in Libya.
'The chartered ValueJet aircraft was, strangely and in a dangerous manner, diverted to the small airport away from Benghazi just as the pilot was completing his approach to the Benghazi Airport. We understand the Al-Abraq International Airport is only used for hajj operations.
'Fatigued players and officials have remained nonplussed as the host Libyan Football Federation failed to send any reception team or even vehicles to take the delegation members from the airport to their hotel, said to be 3 hours away in Benghazi.'
William Troost-Ekong, Nigeria's captain, had been one of several players to open up on the issues the players were facing during their time at the airport.
He had posted on X: '12+ hours in an abandoned airport in Libya after our plane was diverted whilst descending.
'Libyan government rescinded our approved landing in Benghazi with no reason. They’ve locked the airport gates and left us without phone connection, food or drink. All to play mind games.'
Meanwhile, Ndidi shared his full thoughts on his Instagram story as he said: 'This is not football. Very embarrassing. Hostage to a national team. Disgrace.'
Bayer Leverkusen star Victor Boniface added: 'Been at the airport for almost 13 hours no food no wifi nowhere to sleep. Africa we can do better.'
Meanwhile, Nigeria talisman Victor Osimhen - who was not with the squad - also expressed his anger at the situation his team-mates found themselves in.
'I am disappointed by the unfair treatment my brothers and coaches are facing at the Libya airport last night,' he wrote on Instagram.
'Actions like this go against the spirit of sportsmanship. My support is with my team, and I know they'll stay strong despite these obstacles.
'I call on CAF (Confederation of African Football) to intervene, as my teammates and officials are still stranded at the airport in Libya.
'This is uncalled for and inhumane. We stand together, stronger than ever.'
Later on Monday morning, and before the NFF's announcement, Troost-Ekong again took to social media and revealed his side had decided not to play the game in protest at their treatment.
'I’ve experienced stuff before playing away in Africa but this is disgraceful behaviour. Even the Tunisian Pilot who thankfully managed to navigate the last minute change to an airport not fit for our plane to land had never seen something like this before.
'Upon arrival he tried to find a nearby airport to rest with his crew to be denied at every hotel again under Government instruction. He could sleep there but NO NIGERIAN crew members allowed. They have returned to now sleep on the plane which is parked up.
'At this point we have called for our Nigerian Government to intervene and rescue us. As the captain together with the team we have decided that we will NOT play this game. CAF should look at the report and what is happening here.'
Troost-Ekong continued: 'Even if they decide to allow this kind of behaviour, let them have the points. We will not accept to travel anywhere by road here even with security it’s not safe. We can only imagine what the hotel or food would be like given to us IF we continued.
'We respect ourselves and respect our opponents when they are our guests in Nigeria. Mistakes happen but these things on purpose have nothing to do with int. football.'
Several Nigerian players took to social media and revealed what they had been subjected to
Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong later said that his side would not play the game in protest
Libya's allegations that they faced 'poor treatment' during the reverse fixture last week were roundly rejected by the NFF.
Libya captain Faisal Al-Badri had claimed the NFF had obstructed the potential for a seamless entry into the country.
'We left the hotel at six in the morning, and the plane took off at nine,' he had said.
'The flight took four hours, and thus we arrived in Nigeria at one in the afternoon, Libyan time.
'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.'
But the NFF's Assistant Director, Emmanuel Ayanbunmi had refuted these suggestions and hit back at the Libyan Federation last week, claiming he was only given three hours notice of Libya's arrival at what was a different airport than originally planned.
'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 said.
'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.
'Apparently, that would have meant 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 also claimed that Libya ignored the NFF's planned transportation arrangements for their opposition and instead hired buses on their own.
Nigeria's squad claimed they were trapped in the airport with no food, drink or phone signal
The staggering claims raise serious questions about the organisation of AFCON qualifiers
He added: 'If they travelled on buses that were not air-conditioned, that had nothing to do with the NFF as they hired their own 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.'
Nigeria's victory over Libya on Friday was crucial for their hopes of qualifying for AFCON 2025, with the Super Eagles top of their group and six points clear of their opponents.
However, it is now unclear what the situation will be after the postponement of Tuesday's clash.