- Tweeter
republish
The final return of the African Cup of Clubs (Champions League) 2019 between Esperance Tunis (Tunisia) and Wydad Casablanca (Morocco) will be replayed on neutral ground and after CAN 2019, has just announced the Confederation of African Football, June 5, 2019 in Paris. The first leg 1-1 is retained. Tunisians will have to return the medals and the winner trophy.
Surprise in Paris, June 5, 2019. The Confederation of African Football (CAF), whose Executive Committee (ComEx) met in a large hotel in the French capital, made an extremely rare decision: to replay the final of the one of his competitions.
This is the final return of the African Cup of Clubs (CAF Champions League) which had degenerated on May 31 near Tunis, between Esperance Tunis (Tunisia) and Wydad Casablanca (Morocco). ).
After CAN 2019 and on neutral ground
The meeting will take place on neutral ground after the 2019 African Cup of Nations (21 June-19 July), " on a date to be scheduled, " said a spokesman for the CAF, reading a statement under the cries of the joy of Moroccan journalists and the cries of anger from the Tunisian media. " The conditions of play and security were not met during the second leg, [...] preventing the match from coming to an end. As a result, the return match will have to be replayed on land outside Tunisian territory. The score of the first leg (1-1) will, however, be retained.
Although the trophy has already been raised by Tunisians, ComEx has also demanded that it be returned, as well as the medals. The Esperantists do not exclude, in response, refusing to replay and / or to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), said some of their representatives present on site.
Furious Tunisians
The discussions within ComEx have been much longer than expected, even though the decision was officially made by " unanimity of its members ". The session began on June 4 and lasted an hour and a half. Then, after a break of 24 hours, because of the Congress of the International Football Federation (FIFA), it resumed this June 5 afternoon and lasted more than five hours. In the end, some members of the Executive Committee, including President Ahmad, went out by a back door to avoid the press.
Before the announcement, the closed faces of members of the Tunisian delegation and the mines satisfied with Moroccan counterparts already allowed to guess this unlikely outcome. Unlikely because of the laws of the game and the imminence of the CAN 2019. " It mixes football and politics, all that , plague Karim, Tunisian fan of 37 years, present like many others in front of the hotel where sat the ExCom. This story is gone in all directions. It's a shame for African football, for CAF and even for FIFA. [...] I was present at this match. And security was at the top. There were no incidents, either at the level of the supporters or at the level of the teams ".
A double final enamelled with polemics
On May 31st in Rades, the return leg of the CAF Champions League 2019 ended in confusion. Esperance Tunis, the local club, was declared 1-0 winner and African champion, after 60 minutes of play and 90 minutes of interruption. Opposing players from Wydad Casablanca refused to take over the game. They actually protested against the non-use of video arbitration (VAR), the equipment of the VAR being down. In the 61st minute, they had indeed seen their equalization denied by the referee, for a supposed offside.
The first leg, May 24, had already been marked by controversies over arbitration. So much so that referee Gehad Grisha was suspended for six months following his " weak performance ".