Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong and goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali have reacted to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) awarding Nigeria three points and imposing a $50,000 fine on Libya’s Football Association.

This action followed Libya’s unsatisfactory treatment of the Super Eagles before their scheduled October 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier.

The Super Eagles’ scheduled match against Libya on October 15 was cancelled after the team was detained for over 20 hours without food or water upon arriving at Al Abaq airport.

In its ruling on Saturday, the Disciplinary Board, chaired by Ousmane Kane, found the Libyan Football Federation in violation of Article 31 of the Africa Cup of Nations Regulations and Articles 82 and 151 of the CAF Disciplinary Code.

It partly reads, “The Libyan Football Federation is found to have breached Article 31 of the Africa Cup of Nations Regulations, as well as Articles 82 and 151 of the CAF Disciplinary Code.

“The match No. 87, Libya v Nigeria, of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers 2025 (scheduled to be played on 15 October 2024 in Benghazi), is declared lost by forfeit by Libya (with a record of 3-0).”

Reacting in a post on his X account on Saturday, Troost-Ekong, the Super Eagles skipper, stated that the development brings the Super Eagles closer to qualifying for AFCON 2025.

He wrote, “JUSTICE: CAF awards three points and three goals to Nigeria. Libya fined $50,000.

“The plane was diverted 300km from the scheduled airport, even when the pilot told them he was low on fuel. One step closer to our target AFCON 2025.”

In his own post, goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali quote-tweeted CAF’s announcement and questioned, “$50k for eba?”

The decision boosts Nigeria’s AFCON 2025 qualification hopes, putting them at the top of Group D with 10 points, four points ahead of second-placed Benin Republic.

A win or draw against the Benin Republic on November 14 in Abidjan would guarantee Nigeria’s spot in the 2025 AFCON finals in Morocco.