The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have announced that Tunisia’s Esperancewill be crowned Champions League champions and enforced a number of fines on both sides.
Esperance faced Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca in the tournament’s final back in May. The first-leg in Morocco finished in a 1-1 draw, which meant that Wydad Casablanca needed to win 1-0 or draw by any scoreline that is larger than 1-1 in order to secure the title.
However, it was the hosts who opened the scoreline in Rades after Youcef Belaili fired them into the lead in the 41st minute, ending the first-half 1-0 to the Tunisian giants.
Wydad managed to level the aggregate score in the 58th minute when Walid El Karti headed in a cross, but it was ruled out for offside.
However the replay showed that the player was onside, nonetheless match official Bakary Gassama couldn’t consult the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for technical reasons. This was met with a lot of anger from the Wydad players who refused continue the game and eventually decided to abandon the game granting Esperance their fourth title.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have announced that Tunisia’s Esperancewill be crowned Champions League champions and enforced a number of fig8vnes on both sides.
Esperance faced Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca in the tournament’s final back in May. The first-leg in Morocco finished in a 1-1 draw, which meant that Wydad Casablanca needed to win 1-0 or draw by any scoreline that is larger than 1-1 in order to secure the title.
However, it was the hosts who opened the scoreline in Rades after Youcef Belaili fired them into the lead in the 41st minute, ending the first-half 1-0 to the Tunisian giants.
Wydad managed to level the aggregate score in the 58th minute when Walid El Karti headed in a cross, but it was ruled out for offside.
However the replay showed that the player was onside, nonetheless match official Bakary Gassama couldn’t consult the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for technical reasons. This was met with a lot of anger from the Wydad players who refused continue the game and eventually decided to abandon the game granting Esperance their fourth title.
Esperance were given another 50,000 USD fine as their fans used smoke and projectiles during the game and for their ‘unsporting’ behavior during the match.
Esperance will now face Egypt’s Zamalek in the CAF Super Cup in August after the Whites managed to clinch the CAF Confederation Cup title last week.
Source:punch
