By Victor Kanayo
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has imposed sanctions on the Libyan Football Federation for offences committed during the qualifying tournament for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Libya had earlier been sanctioned with the forfeiture of their home match against Nigeria.
This time, the CAF Disciplinary Board charged the Libyan Football Federation with misconduct following incidents during their match against Benin in Benghazi on 18 November 2024.
The CAF Disciplinary Board found the Libyan Football Federation guilty of violating Articles 82 and 151 of the CAF Disciplinary Code due to the behaviour of its supporters and officials during and after the match.
The Libyan Football Federation was ordered to play its next two official national team matches behind closed doors, and the CAF Disciplinary Board fined it USD 50,000.
In a related development, and in the same qualifying tournament, the CAF Disciplinary Board charged the Beninese Football Federation for its lack of collaboration with the Disciplinary Board, in violation of Article 45 of the CAF Disciplinary Code during their fixture against Rwanda.
The CAF Disciplinary Board found the Beninese Football Federation guilty and imposed a fine of USD 5,000 for violating Article 45 of the CAF Disciplinary Code.
The Board also imposed a fine of USD 50,000, with USD 25,000 suspended, for the misconduct of its officials at the end of the match.
The CAF Disciplinary Board also addressed other matters and incidents during the CAF Interclub Competition and the Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 Qualifiers.
CR Belouizdad of Algeria was charged with misconduct after its fans allegedly used smoke bombs during their CAF Champions League fixture against Orlando Pirates of South Africa on 26 November 2024.
The Board found CR Belouizdad guilty and fined the club USD 10,000, with USD 5,000 suspended, provided no similar incident occurs over the next 12 months.
