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By Muttaz Ali.
Tripoli, 23 April 2014:
The Libyan Football Federation has imposed fines on players in the national team who refused to . . .[restrict]go on a pre-arranged training camp in Portugal, saying they were owed money by the government.
The fine is LD 5,000 per player, according to the president of the Libyan Football Federation Anur Al-Tashani. He said that 21 players had been booked to attend the week-long training in Portugal, which was to help the team prepare for a qualifying match in May for the 2015 Africa Championship.
Team members refused to go to Portugal in protest about not receiving the full fees and rewards they say had been promised by the Libyan Football Union after winning the Championship of African Nations (CHAN) earlier this year.
“They have been paid almost everything they were promised,” Tashani told Libyan news agency LANA. “The outstanding amount is around LD 10,000 per player.” He added that the Libyan Football Union and the Ministry of Youth and Sports had been trying to resolve the problem.
“The Ministry has not refused to pay this money but, because it is short of funds, it just needs some more time to be able to pay,” an official at the Ministry told the Libya Herald.
The move could have back-fired on the players, however. Libyan League games are now being rescheduled, which may give other players the chance to play in the May qualifier. [/restrict]
