Courtesy: This is Somerset


Trip to Libya was a strange experience

A Frome footballer has recalled the time he spent on a trip to Libya with the five-a-side Futsal England squad, visiting Colonel Gaddafi's compound which was destroyed by UN forces just days ago.

Luke Ballinger, 23, who has played for Frome Town for the past 18 months, told the Somerset Standard this week that the trip, in December 2009, was very political and that the 23-strong group of footballers and training staff were subjected to endless propaganda material.

The team were invited to take part in several matches against the country in a series of international Futsal friendlies.

He said: "We stayed in a hotel in Tripoli; on one side there was a beautiful view of the sea and through the other window it was carnage.

"We regularly heard gunshots outside the hotel and we were always looking over our shoulder – we really had to be on our guard."

During the trip the squad were taken to Colonel Gaddafi's complex for a tour, though the dictator was not in residence at the time.

Mr Ballinger said: "As we approached the gates to the complex we could see this huge sculpture of Gaddafi holding an American plane in his clenched fist – it was quite unreal. Before we got into the complex there were about 100 security guards and we were all searched, we then drove another half a mile before we came to the actual homes he inhabits.

"There were pictures of him everywhere we went and his people were telling us how much they hated the Americans and showed us the wreckage of a house that had not been touched since it had been bombed back in the early Eighties. Even the bomb was still there and it was about the size of a car.

"Some of his people wanted to get pictures with us by the sculpture but our management team said no because of the political implications.

"We actually stood on the site that was bombed by the UN forces earlier this week – it seems surreal to see it on the television where we were."

The UN Security Council ordered a no-fly zone over the country after it was reported that Colonel Gaddafi was using his military forces to kill rebels who want to get rid of him.

Air strikes by American and UK forces have been taking place to destroy military ground targets for the past three days.

Asked what he thought of what was going on, he said: "I think what we are doing is the right thing but we need to look after our own people first, I wouldn't want it to turn into another Afghanistan."

Futsal is a smaller variant of associated football and is played throughout the world.

It is played on a smaller pitch and is generally played indoors.


Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com