2015 AFRICA CUP QUALIFIERS - GROUP STAGE - 1ST MATCHES - PREVIEW - Saturday's matches

Champions Nigeria begin the defence of their Africa Cup of Nations title by hosting Congo-Brazzaville in Calabar in one of 11 qualifiers on Saturday.

5 Sep 2014
2015 AFRICA CUP QUALIFIERS - GROUP STAGE - 1ST MATCHES - PREVIEW - the qualifying begins

The group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers begins on Friday as 28 countries chase 15 places at January's finals, hoping to join hosts Morocco.

4 Sep 2014
TRANSFER - GAMBIA - Swansea City sign striker Modou Barrow from Ostersunds

Gambian-born Barrow moved to Sweden as a youngster and scored 10 goals in 19 appearances for Ostersunds last season.

2 Sep 2014
TRANSFER - MOROCCO - Aston Villa's El Ahmadi joins Feyenoord

Transfer deadline dayThe 29-year-old played for the Dutch club between 2008-2012, spending the first half of 2011 on loan at United Arab Emirates side Al Ahli.

2 Sep 2014
TRANSFER - IVORY COAST - WEST HAM SIGN BARCA'S SONG ON LOAN

Alex Song on a season-long loan. - "It was a very hard decision when you have options of a lot of clubs who are playing in the Champions League, but at the end of the day I chose West Ham because I wanted to come to the Premier League."

2 Sep 2014
TRANSFER - GHANA - Waris join Trabzonspor

The Ghana international, who played at the World Cup in Brazil, spent the second half of last season on loan at French side Valenciennes, where he scored nine goals in 16 games.

2 Sep 2014
TRANSFER - IVORY COAST - Ex-Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou joins Hertha Berlin

Kalou, scored 23 goals in 67 appearances for Ivory Coast - He has proved his class in the Premier League, Champions League and with his national team. 

1 Sep 2014
2015 AFRICA CUP QUALIFIERS - GROUP STAGE - TOGO - 1ST MATCHES - PREVIEW - Emmanuel Adebayor

The Tottenham Hotspur striker, 30, refused call-ups for World Cup qualifiers last year following a spat with then coach Didier Six after the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

1 Sep 2014
2015 AFRICA CUP QUALIFIERS - GROUP STAGE - Sierra Leone - 1ST MATCHES - PREVIEW

Sierra Leone move tie with DR Congo to Lubumbashi - because of the ebola outbreak.

31 Aug 2014

AFRICAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2019 - FINALS - 2ND LEG - RESULT

AFRICAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2019 

FINAL
2nd leg

Esperance vs Wydad Casablanca 1:0

 

FACTS:

The African Champions League final was abandoned due to a row over the Video Assisted Referee (VAR) system.

Play was halted for over an hour after Wydad Casablanca refused to play when VAR was unavailable to judge a disallowed equaliser.

VAR had been set up on the side of the pitch, but the players had not been told it was not working, although officials were aware.

The referee then awarded the victory to three-time former champions Esperance.

The Tunisian side were leading 1:0 (2:1 on aggregate) in Saturday's final, which was played over two legs. 

VAR had been used in last week's first leg.

But in the second leg, Walid El Karti's header for Wydad was disallowed for an infringement.

Wydad players protested to the Gambian referee, demanding VAR be used, and Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Ahmad Ahmad spent almost 30 minutes in discussions with officials in a bid to get the game restarted.

The 60,000 spectators inside the stadium waited for an update for 95 minutes, before the referee awarded the victory to the home team, who retained the title.

In a statement, CAF confirmed it will hold a meeting of their executive committee on Tuesday to discuss the incident.

It is the first time in the 55-year history of the elite African club competition that a match in the home-and-away final series has not been completed.

Last week's first leg in Morocco saw CAF hand Egyptian referee Gehad Grisha a six-month ban after complaints from the Moroccans.

Esperance were unbeaten all season, equalling the achievement of the 1994 squad, becoming the first club to win the competition twice without losing a match.

Wydad could now face a two-year ban from competing in continental club competition.

 

1 Jun 2019
(afrofootball + bbc_sport)

Related countries

Related articles