By Nurudeen Obalola
Benin Republic players and officials have spoken out after being treated badly by their hosts Libya during an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, similar to the experience of Nigeria’s Super Eagles.
The West Africans were in Libya for their final 2025 AFCON qualifying match, which ended 0-0 on Monday, with Gernot Rohr’s side finishing second in the group and securing a ticket along with Nigeria, while Libya finished bottom.
The players and their head coach Rohr, who used to handle the Super Eagles, narrated how they were assaulted by Libyan security operatives and fans after the match in Tripoli.
Multiple videos shared online show the moment some Benin Republic players and officials were tending to their injuries with ice packs. The injured players claimed they were attacked inside their dressing room by Libyans.
Benin captain Steve Mounie likened his experience in Libya to being in a battleground.
“It wasn’t easy. It was really a war zone. This Libyan team, this country and its supporters didn’t respect us at the start of the match. They whistled our national anthem, and we made it personal,” he said.
“We wanted to come out of this match with qualification. We did it with difficulty. Benin is at the CAN 2025. We can be proud of what we have achieved with this group of young players.”
Rohr added: “The Libyan police took out their batons to beat us.”
The Super Eagles had an even worse experience in the North African country in October, having to pull out of the scheduled fixture after Libyan authorities deliberately diverted their plane mid-air to an abandoned airport with inadequate safe landing equipment.
They then held the players and officials hostage for about 18 hours without food, drinks or internet access.
After an investigation into the incident, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) disciplinary board awarded three points and three goals to Nigeria for the missed Libya game.
