Black night for African Football as Rivers United FC are attacked in Libya
Nigerian club Rivers United FC have reported an attack on their team by Libyan fans in what represents a black night for African Football.
Rivers United FC are in Benghazi, Libya for the second leg of their CAF Confederation Cup playoff round fixture vs Al Nasr Benghazi on Wednesday November 9, 2022.
The NPFL Champions hold a healthy 5-0 aggregate advantage from the first leg in Port Harcourt.
Immediately after the first leg on November 2nd, Libyan fans on Al Nasr Benghazi’s social media handles promised their Nigerian counterparts a hellish stay in Benghazi when they arrive for the second leg.
According to reports from the Rivers United FC Media crew their hosts in Wednesday’s CAF Confederation Cup (CAFCC) additional playoff round decider Al Nasr Benghazi made true their threats and series of antics aimed at frustrating the visitors.
Rivers United FC reported “On arrival at the Benghazi Airport, there were no police escorts nor were there security personnel to usher the visiting team into the city so United had to make do with their well thought-of arrangement before hand.
” Not even a provision for transportation vehicle was made by the hosts as the Nigerians were told in clear terms that they would have to pay for the luxurious bus being provided by their hosts.
” The antics reached a crescendo when Rivers United’s privately arranged training session at a secret facility on Monday night was disrupted after the managers of the facility were intimidated by irate Al Naser fans to switch off the floodlights at the facility and attacked the team with bottles and stones. The irate fans further trailed the team to their hotel harassing players and officials and promising the team “Hell” when they come out for the official training session at the stadium on Tuesday night. ”
Rivers United’s management have notified CAF of the Unsportsmanlike conduct of the Libyan club.
A black night for the beautiful game of soccer on the African continent.
