After a decision by CAF to replay the second leg of the African Champions League final in a neutral ground, Esperance de Tunis brutally responded to that decision and confirmed that they will appeal that decision.
Esperance de Tunis were crowned CAF Champions League winners after their opponents, Wydad Casablanca, refused to return to the field in protest of VAR not being implemented on a goal that was ruled out.
The controversial moment came in the 58th minute of the Champions League final second-leg clash when Wydad midfielder Walid El Karti’s effort was ruled out.
Gambian referee Bakari Gassama chose not to use video assistance to review the goal, which led to Wydad walking off the pitch and refusing to return.
After the game was halted for over an hour, Gassama declared Esperance the champions due to Wydad’s refusal to re-enter the pitch.
This seems to be the situation:
– Wydad score a legitimate goal that is called OFFSIDE.
– Replays show the player was onside but theres no attempt to see VAR by referee Gassama
-Wydad refuse to continue without checking VAR replays.#CAFCL #CAFCLfinal pic.twitter.com/sGixo8KrvO— Ahmed Osman (@ahmz_osman) May 31, 2019
The CAF’s executive committee met in Paris on the fringes of the Fifa congress and decided on Wednesday to restage the match at a neutral ground in a decision that could spark an immediate legal challenge.
But after the decision that seemed too brutal to the Tunisian side, the club went to Twitter to express their dissatisfaction.
The club officials announced that they will appeal against the ruling.
Under what grounds will they argue?
Firstly, the Moroccan Football Federation, whose president, Fouzi Lekjaa, is a powerful figure within the Caf executive committee, said the players had not been informed about the VAR technology being faulty.
Fouzi Lekjaa is a Moroccan sports leader and member of the Executive Board of the African Confederation of Football. This is why the decision made by CAF could have been compromised.
Also, rules set by the game’s lawmakers, the International Football Association Board, state that a match cannot be invalidated because of VAR technology malfunctioning or if there is a wrong decision involving VAR.
What next?
All eyes are waiting to see if Esperance de Tunis will go ahead and appeal the CAF’s decision and whether the ruling will be in their favour.
If the ruling goes against them, a replay of the second leg finals will be played probably after the African Cup of Nation finals, which are being hosted in Egypt from 21st June to 19th July.