The players and coaches of Benin Republic male national football team, Cheetahs of the Benin, have narrated how they were assaulted by Libyan security operatives and fans after their 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier in Tripoli.
The West African team played a goalless draw against Libya at the 11 June stadium to deny the host team the chance to play at the forthcoming tournament in Morocco.
Benin Republic finished second in Group D of the qualifiers, eight points behind the Super Eagles of Nigeria. Libya stayed at the bottom of the group, outside the qualification zone.
Multiple videos seen online show the moment some Benin Republic team players and officials were tending to their injuries with ice packs. The injured players claimed they were attacked inside their dressing room by Libyan nationals.
One of the players, Steve Mounie described his experience in Libya as war.
He said: “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.
“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.”
The team coach, Gernot Rohr added: “The Libyan police took out their batons to beat us.”
In October, the Super Eagles of Nigeria accused Libyan authorities of deliberately diverting their flight to frustrate the team when they visited the country for a football match.
This left the team officials and players stranded.
The team eventually decided not to honour the 2025 AFCON qualifier against Libya.
After an investigation into the incident, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) awarded three points and three goals to Nigeria for the missed Libya game.