Oblige to repeat the final of the African Champions after a controversial arbitration
The African Football Confederation decided to put an end to the final controversy of the "African Championships" on May 31 between the Esperance of Tunisia and the Wydad of Casablanca and ordered the match to be repeated on neutral ground. The CAF executive committee He met in Paris and ended the controversy that has taken place in Tunisia and Morocco as a national drama, according to the Moroccan press. The CAF considers that that party did not meet the necessary conditions of organization and security, and consequently the Esperance must return the trophy awarded that same day. The date of the match will be "after the Africa Cup of Nations", which is played in July in Egypt, although the specific day has not been specified. The two teams, which had tied (1 -1) in the first leg in Casablanca, they were playing the round in Tunis; In the 59th minute of play, when the score was favorable 1-0 for Esperance, the Moroccan Walid el Karti equalized with a header. The referee annulled the goal of course offside, supported by the line judges; before it, the Moroccans asked to go to the VAR, but it did not work, and the referee kept his decision. The Moroccans refused to return to the pitch and so, after 90 minutes of suspension, with grabs and pushes between the players of both teams , the referee decreed the end of the game with 30 minutes remaining and proclaimed winner of the Esperance Cup, in an unprecedented decision in the annals of African football. The players of the Wydad-team that by the way won the Moroccan league championship "Botola" for the twentieth time in their history-did not even attend the trophy and left the field to protest what happened. With the decision made, CAF maintains the result of the first game and only obliges to repeat the second.
