The "blue jewel" knot is elusive to Al-Ahly of Egypt.. Al-Hilal fans gather outside the stadium
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Al-Ahly of Egypt, the defending champion, failed to break its knot at the "Blue Jewel" stadium in Omdurman, with a negative draw with its Sudanese host, Al-Hilal today, at the opening of the second round of the first group competitions in the group stage (price of the final) of the African Champions League competition.
And the "Blue Jewel" stadium node associated with Al-Ahly continued for the fifth match in a row.
In general, the two teams faced each other in nine matches in the Champions League. Al-Ahly won three, all in Cairo, and tied on four occasions, and Al-Hilal won twice.
This was Al-Ahly's first match in the price of the final after postponing its match against the second pole of the Sudanese football, Al-Merreikh, to next March 5, due to its participation in the Club World Cup, where it won the bronze medal by coming third after defeating Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia by four clean points.
Al-Ahly’s first point in the group stage is equal to Al-Hilal, who played its second match after losing 0-1 in the first round against its South African host, Mamelodi Sundowns, who will meet tomorrow with its host Al-Merreikh at Al-Ahly Club Stadium in Cairo.
The match was held behind closed doors in front of the Sudanese fans, by a decision of the African Confederation (CAF), after 15,000 tickets were sold.
Yesterday, the Sudanese Football Association denied any role in the CAF decision, and expressed its support for Al Hilal's demands to allow the fans to enter the stadium, according to the official Sudanese News Agency (SUNA).
The club also said it would appeal the CAF decision and demanded compensation of $500,000.
Sudan owns a few stadiums approved by CAF to host international matches and regularly plays its home matches abroad, similar to the qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, which it played in Morocco.
Although fans were prevented from entering the stadium, hundreds of Al Hilal supporters gathered in front of the stadium gates, an AFP journalist noted.
Violence marred the fans of the former Sudanese and Egyptian teams, and the Egyptian Federation called on the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to prevent the fans from entering the stadium “to protect Al-Ahly.”
Al-Hilal supporters chanted slogans amid a large deployment of Sudanese security forces.
"We are here for our team," one of the fans, Abdel Hadi Abu Dora, told AFP, noting that he was surprised "when I found out that the audience was not allowed to enter."
Another fan, whose name is Samani Ibrahim Youssef, added, "Even if we are prevented from entering the stadium, we want to celebrate outside."
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