CAF decided on Wednesday that the Champions League final between Esperance and Morocco's Wydad Casablanca was the last in the second leg, thus giving the Tunisian team the title.
The CAF disciplinary committee announced after a meeting in Cairo on Wednesday that "Wydad Casablanca will be considered a loser in the second leg of the final round", which gives the title to the Tunisian team due to the end of the second leg in Rabat 1-1 draw.
A source in the African Union, who requested anonymity, that "the decision means that Esperance is the hero."
The second leg in late May sparked controversy as Moroccan players withdrew from the pitch in protest at the breakdown of the video-assisted arbitration technology (VAR). Despite Espérance's handover of the trophy at the end of the match, the Confederation returned a few days later and decided to return the return match on neutral ground, a move canceled by the Court of Arbitration for Sport ("CAS") in late July.
The court, based in the Swiss city of Lausanne, returned the case to the continental federation, calling on its "competent" bodies to decide.
In a statement posted on the CAF website, the disciplinary committee confirmed a $ 20,000 penalty for the Moroccan team, which won the trophy in 2017, on the back of their players' withdrawal from the game, in addition to $ 15,000 for the use of firecrackers.
On the other hand, the Committee reminded Esperance President Hamdi Al-Madib to impose a penalty of $ 20,000 against him for the "non-sporting behavior against the president of the CAF" Ahmed Ahmed, in addition to a penalty of $ 50,000 for the club's actions and the punishment of playing two games without an audience.