Esperance de Tunis officially declared winner of Africa Champions League 2019

18 Septembre 2020

Tunis, Tunisia, September 18  (Infosplusgabon) – The Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) on Friday announced that Esperance de Tunis is officially the winner of the African Champions League 2019 and this, after the rejection of the appeal by Wydad Casablanca (Morocco).

In a communiqué, the international body rejected the appeal of the Wydad by indicating that “the decisions of the WAC (Wydad Casablanca) players not to resume the game after the interruption in the second half was actually an abandonment under Article 148 of the CAF disciplinary code”.

The match, played on 31 May 2019 at Rades Stadium, near Tunis, had been interrupted after referee Bakary Gassama disallowed a goal scored in the 60th minute by Wydad, claiming it was scored from an offside position, as Esperance was leading 1-0.

The Moroccans refused to resume the game, demanding a resort to the video (VAR) which was not operational.

In its report, the match commissioner, Mauritanian Ahmed Ould Yahya, said that the two teams had been informed before the beginning of the match that the VAR had broken down.

After the stoppage which lasted about 1 and half hours, the referee stopped the match by declaring Esperance de Tunis winner.

Reacting to the CAS decision, the president of Wydad Casablanca, Said Naciri, described the development as a scandal.

“First, I have to wait for the opinion of the lawyers of the club and I will come back to that decision," he said.

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/AZS/GABON2020

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