Super Eagles Team Coordinator, Patrick Pascal has expressed his frustration over the team’s ordeal in Libya, where they were stranded for over 18 hours without basic amenities including food, accommodation, or internet.
In an interview, Pascal, who also serves as the Chairman of the Bauchi Football Association, revealed that the experience was the worst he has encountered in his entire football career. Pascal described the situation as chaotic and unbearable. The team was stuck at the airport with minimal access to facilities. There were only two toilets at the airport, and the others were locked, the two toilets were messed up,” he lamented. “After about four hours, some of us had to get medication—Flagyl from the team doctor just to manage ourselves properly.”
Reflecting on the incident, Pascal added: “It’s the worst experience I’ve ever had in football. I’ve seen delays of two to three hours before, but after they usually provide a bus or make other arrangements. This was completely unacceptable. “So they want three points and kill people? Action must be taken.
Pascal further narrated how attempts to find a hotel for the players and officials were thwarted by Libyan authorities. “We wanted to find a hotel where the players and officials would rest but they refused us to go past through the gate. “It was there the matter got serious. The military and police came and were dragging cameras with our people, but thank God some people had already videoed the situation.” According to Pascal, the tense standoff nearly escalated into violence. “They were carrying guns and it wanted to turn to something else, I just told them to calm down because it was turning to something else, and we didn’t even know where we were at that point.”
Pascal also addressed claims that the Libyan national team faced poor treatment during their visit to Nigeria. “The Libyan team arrived on Tuesday, a day earlier than scheduled. Wednesday was the official day for them to come but when they came we made an arrangement for them. “By Wednesday, their official arrival day, everything had been arranged for them—transportation, accommodation, everything. It’s all on record,” he explained.
The Confederation of African Football has announced that it will investigate the incident to determine what transpired and take appropriate action.
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