Gor Mahia players were on Saturday forced to sleep on the cold floor of Doha International Airport, Qatar after travel arrangements went wrong.
Their journey to Berkane, Morocco via Qatar showed all the signs of a rocky trip after they struggled to secure the tickets on April 12.
The team had first been turned away at JKIA after it emerged that they had not secured tickets for the trip.
“We were to leave for Morocco yesterday (Thursday) but on reaching JKIA, we were shocked to find that the club had not secured tickets. We trained again at Camp Toyoyo on Friday and were told to leave our phones on because they are trying to get tickets," a player told Goal.com.
Facing a 28-hour (average) trip from Nairobi to Berkane, they then had to travel in batches with Dennis Oliech reportedly missing out on the trip after losing his passport in the confusion.
On arrival in Qatar, the Kenyan champions had to wait for a connecting flight to Morocco.
“We are currently resting on the floor in the waiting room. Our flight is at 12.00 midnight and the club says it does not have money to book a resting room for us.
“We have no alternative but to find a way of passing time before we leave; we will arrive in Morocco in the morning. Definitely, we will be tired, but we will give our best, we felt it is good for the fans to know what is happening," another player told Goal.com
The club's officials have accused the players of staging the pictures to look for a scapegoat.
"They stage-managed those pictures, looking for a scapegoat and you are here cheering them, the team left Nairobi at 10am and landed in Doha at 4pm and they are already in the flight heading to Morrocco," stated Sally Bollo, a team official.
Gor will be facing RS Berkane of Morocco at the CAF Confederations Cup quarter-finals match return leg at 10pm.
