Following the VAR row the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has decided on a replay of its Champions League return leg final between Esperance Tunis and Wydad Casablanca of Morocco.
The verdict was reached in Paris on Wednesday during an emergency meeting of the body’s Executive Committee following a complaint filed by Morocco FA after the ill-fated game of last Friday was abandoned by Wydad and won by Esperance.
The three main points of the decision are:
1) A replay of the return leg final match on a neutral ground due to lack of security and fair play rules at the Stade Olympique in Rades, Tunisia.
2) The return leg final match will be played after the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
3) Esperance Tunis are to hand back the trophy and medals to CAF.
Esperance immediately rejected the decision and announced they would resort to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
“No comment. I have nothing to say. I was scared after what happened,” CAF president Ahmad Ahmad said after the meeting.
“What happened was unfair to Wydad. We signed an agreement with VAR company, but I do not know what happened. They told me that the VAR did not work due to technical reasons.”
Wydad players walked off the pitch when their equaliser against Esperance in the return leg final was disallowed without a review on VAR, which Gambian referee Bakari Gassama said was faulty.
Esperance were eventually declared winners on a 1-0 win. The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw.
