The Libyan Football Federation (LFF) has blamed the cancellation of Tuesday's Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on match rivals Nigeria.

Nigerian players and officials reported being kept in a locked airport for more than 16 hours, approximately 220 kilometers (about 135 miles) from their intended destination, Benghazi, where the match was to be played. The plane was diverted at the last minute.

The Super Eagles said they had no access to food or water and no contact with Libyan officials during the ordeal and chose to fly back to Nigeria on Monday rather than play the match.

Captain William Troost-Ekong had said the team would not make a three-hour bus journey in the unstable country for safety reasons. He accused the Libyan authorities of "mind games."

What the Libyan federation said

The LFF said the incident had not been deliberate and urged Nigeria to be understanding.

An LFF statement said: "We reject any claims that suggest foul play or sabotage in this situation."

"There are no grounds to accuse the Libyan security teams or the Libyan Football Federation of deliberately orchestrating this incident," it said.

"Such actions are inconsistent with our values and principles," the LFF added. "We firmly reject any claims that suggest foul play or sabotage in this situation."

The LFF pointed out that Libyan players had also faced travel difficulties last week.

The squad's flight landed hours away from the match venue in the city of Uyo, and the players endured long travel delays before losing 1-0 to Nigeria.

What happens now?

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) said it has been "in contact with the Libyan and Nigerian authorities after it had been informed that the Nigerian National Football Team and their technical team were stranded in disturbing conditions for several hours at an airport that they were allegedly instructed to land by the Libyan authorities."

The confederation said the matter had now been referred to its disciplinary board.

Former African footballer of the year Victor Ikpeba, who was with the team in Libya, urged tough sanctions against Libya and backed the decision to boycott the match.

"If CAF know their job, Libya ought to be banned from international football," he told the AFP news agency.

Meanwhile, the LFF said it would take all legal measures to protect the national team's interests.

After the Nigeria squad arrived home, Troost-Ekong said the experience would make him and his teammates stronger. The side is in pole position to qualify for next year's finals in Morocco, at the top of their qualifying group on 7 points. 

"Throw at us what you want, it’s in our blood to overcome," he tweeted. "I've seen a lot in my 10 years with this group, but nothing like this, an experience that has brought us even closer TOGETHER."

Among Nigeria's squad are Ademola Lookman, who scored a hat trick for Atalanta in the Europa League final last season and who is on the Ballon d'Or shortlist, and the Bundesliga's Victor Boniface, a striker for German champions Bayer Leverkusen.

rc/lo (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)