Paris (AFP)

Who won the African Champions League? The CAS, the highest sports court, Wednesday canceled the decision to replay the return final, enamelled incidents, between Esperance Tunis and Wydad Casablanca, and returned the ball to the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Two months after the electric match played in Rabat, the confusion plays the extension. It will be time to wait before knowing the outcome of this incredible saga that poisons the image of the African continent.

On May 31, the players of Wydad Casablanca had pulled out in the middle of the match to protest against a breakdown of assistance to the video arbitration (VAR), convinced that it could have validated a goal denied by the referee.

After 1:30 of interruption, marked by some clashes and long discussions between leaders, Tunisians were declared winners. But their joy was short-lived as five days later, the African Confederation decided to play the match again, on neutral ground.

The decision was unanimous against her and the two clubs appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the highest sports court, with separate appeals and a common motivation: to annul the decision and be declared the winner.

They won Wednesday on the first point, thanks to a defect form.

- "In order" -

In its decision, the court based in Lausanne concludes indeed that the CAF executive committee, convened urgently in early June in Paris, was not "competent" to decide to replay the match.

"It is now up to the competent organs of the CAF" to examine the incidents that occurred during the controversial final, "to take any appropriate disciplinary action if necessary, and consequently to decide whether the return leg of the Champions League CAF 2018 / 19 must be replayed or not, "says TAS.

In other words, either the CAF pronounces a disciplinary sanction against one of the two clubs, declared loser on green carpet, and in this case the fate of the final is settled; or it internally seizes the competent body that may decide to replay the match.

"The CAS found that the executive committee of the CAF had seized a case that was not his responsibility", without studying all possible options, comments to AFP Matthieu Reeb, the secretary General Court of Arbitration for Sport. By this decision, "the CAS returns the file to CAF to try to put things back in order," he says.

Although the court has not appointed a winner, it has however already dismissed Wydad's claims (to be declared the winner and to pocket the bonus), while those of Esperance will be examined later.

The Tunisian club, seeing it as a definitive victory, hastened to declare itself "champion of Africa" ​​on its Facebook page.

"The formation of the CAS will continue its deliberations on the requests of the EST (Esperance Tunis, Editor's note) and will prepare a final sentence, taking into account any decision taken by the CAF in this interval", concludes the TAS .

"The file is in the hands of the CAF and it is she who will decide.The decision is his," in turn responded the boss of Wydad, Said Naciri, with AFP.

A new episode has just been written, but the epilogue still seems far away.

© 2019 AFP