Wikipedia

2019 CAF Champions League final

The 2019 CAF Champions League Final was the final of the 2018–19 CAF Champions League, the 55th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 23rd edition under the current CAF Champions League title.

2019 CAF Champions League Final
ES Tunis were declared champions after second leg was abandoned in Radès Stadium.
Event2018–19 CAF Champions League
Wydad AC Espérance de Tunis
Morocco Tunisia
1 2
First leg
Wydad AC Espérance de Tunis
1 1
Date24 May 2019 (2019-05-24)
VenuePrince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat
RefereeGehad Grisha (Egypt)
Second leg
Espérance de Tunis Wydad AC
1 0
Match abandoned[note 1]
Date31 May 2019 (2019-05-31)
VenueStade Olympique de Radès, Tunis
RefereeBakary Gassama (Gambia)
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The final was originally contested in two-legged home-and-away format between Wydad AC from Morocco and defending champions Espérance de Tunis from Tunisia. The first leg was hosted by Wydad AC at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat on 24 May 2019, while the second leg was hosted by Espérance de Tunis at the Stade Olympique de Radès in Tunis on 31 May 2019.[1]

Espérance de Tunis were initially declared winners following a refusal by Wydad AC to resume play following an issue with VAR, though CAF later ruled the second leg must be replayed in a neutral venue to decide the champions. However, the decision to order a replay was thrown out by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), who told the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to refer the case to its proper disciplinary structures for a decision, and on 7 August 2019, Espérance de Tunis were declared winners for a second time. As winners, they earned the right to play in the 2020 CAF Super Cup and the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup.

Teams edit

In the following table, finals until 1996 were in the African Cup of Champions Club era, since 1997 were in the CAF Champions League era.

Team Zone Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners)
  Wydad AC UNAF (North Africa) 3 (1992, 2011, 2017)
  Espérance de Tunis UNAF (North Africa) 7 (1994, 1999, 2000, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2018)

Venues edit

 
Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco hosted the first leg.
 
Stade Olympique de Radès in Tunis, Tunisia, hosted the second leg.

Road to the final edit

Further information: 2018–19 CAF Champions League

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

  Wydad AC Round   Espérance de Tunis
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Qualifying rounds Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
  ASC Diaraf 3–3 (a) 2–0 (H) 1–3 (A) First round Bye
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
  ASEC Mimosas 5–2 (H) Matchday 1   Horoya 1–1 (A)
  Mamelodi Sundowns 1–2 (A) Matchday 2   FC Platinum 2–0 (H)
  Lobi Stars 1–0 (A) Matchday 3   Orlando Pirates 0–0 (A)
  Lobi Stars 0–0 (H) Matchday 4   Orlando Pirates 2–0 (H)
  ASEC Mimosas 0–2 (A) Matchday 5   Horoya 2–0 (H)
  Mamelodi Sundowns 1–0 (H) Matchday 6   FC Platinum 2–1 (A)
Group A winners

Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1   Wydad AC 6 10
2   Mamelodi Sundowns 6 10
3   Lobi Stars 6 7
4   ASEC Mimosas 6 7
Source: CAF
 Final standings Group B winners

Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1   Espérance de Tunis 6 14
2   Horoya 6 10
3   Orlando Pirates 6 6
4   FC Platinum 6 2
Source: CAF
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Knockout stage Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
  Horoya 5–0 0–0 (A) 5–0 (H) Quarter-finals   CS Constantine 6–3 3–2 (A) 3–1 (H)
  Mamelodi Sundowns 2–1 2–1 (H) 0–0 (A) Semi-finals   TP Mazembe 1–0 1–0 (H) 0–0 (A)

Format edit

The final was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the order of legs determined by the knockout stage draw, which was held on 20 March 2019, 20:00 CAT (UTC+2), at the Marriot Hotel in Cairo, Egypt.[2][3]

If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would have been applied, and if still tied, extra time would not have been played, and a penalty shoot-out would have been used to determine the winner.[1]

Matches edit

First leg edit

Wydad AC  1–1  Espérance de Tunis
  • Comara   79'
 Report
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Gehad Grisha (Egypt)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Wydad AC[4]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Espérance de Tunis[4]
GK 26   Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti
RB 28   Abdelatif Noussir
CB 3   Achraf Dari   28'
CB 29   Cheick Comara
LB 22   Ayoub El Amloud   77'
RM 7   Mohamed Ounajem
CM 4   Salaheddine Saidi
CM 6   Brahim Nekkach (c)   42'   49'
LM 11   Ismail El Haddad
CF 18   Walid El Karti   63'
CF 9   Michael Babatunde   62'
Substitutes:
GK 12   Badreddine Benachour
DF 8   Badr Gaddarine   77'
MF 21   Zouhair El Moutaraji
MF 24   Yahya Jabrane   63'
FW 17   Badie Aouk
FW 20   Ayman El Hassouni   90+4'   62'
FW 25   Gabriel Okechukwu
Manager:
  Faouzi Benzarti
 
GK 1   Moez Ben Cherifia   84'
RB 22   Sameh Derbali   68'
CB 5   Chamseddine Dhaouadi   23'
CB 12   Khalil Chemmam (c)
LB 20   Ayman Ben Mohamed
CM 30   Franck Kom   87'
CM 15   Fousseny Coulibaly
RW 8   Anice Badri
AM 25   Ghailene Chaalali   26'
LW 10   Youcef Belaïli   90+5'
CF 29   Junior Lokosa   88'
Substitutes:
GK 23   Ali Jemal
DF 6   Mohamed Ali Yacoubi
DF 26   Houcine Rabii
MF 17   Hamdou Elhouni   90+5'
MF 18   Saad Bguir   87'
MF 28   Mohamed Amine Meskini
FW 11   Taha Yassine Khenissi   88'
Manager:
  Moïne Chaâbani

Assistant referees:[4]
Waleed Ahmed (Sudan)
Abdelhak Etchiali (Algeria)
Fourth official:[4]
Bernard Camille (Seychelles)

Match rules[1]

  • 90 minutes.
  • Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used.

Second leg edit

Espérance de Tunis  Abandoned
at the result 1–0[note 1]		  Wydad AC
 Report
Attendance: 60,000
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Espérance de Tunis[10]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Wydad AC[4]
GK 19   Rami Jridi
RB 22   Sameh Derbali
CB 6   Mohamed Ali Yacoubi
CB 12   Khalil Chemmam (c)
LB 20   Ayman Ben Mohamed
CM 15   Fousseny Coulibaly   10'
CM 30   Franck Kom
RW 8   Anice Badri
AM 18   Saad Bguir
LW 10   Youcef Belaïli   42'   61'
CF 11   Taha Yassine Khenissi
Substitutes:
GK 23   Ali Jemal
DF 24   Iheb Mbarki
DF 26   Houcine Rabii
MF 17   Hamdou Elhouni   61'
MF 28   Mohamed Amine Meskini
FW 14   Haythem Jouini
FW 29   Junior Lokosa
Manager:
  Moïne Chaâbani
 
GK 26   Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti
RB 28   Abdelatif Noussir (c)
CB 30   Mohamed Nahiri
CB 29   Cheick Comara
LB 22   Ayoub El Amloud
DM 4   Salaheddine Saidi
RM 11   Ismail El Haddad
CM 18   Walid El Karti
CM 24   Yahya Jabrane
LM 17   Badie Aouk
CF 20   Ayman El Hassouni
Substitutes:
GK 12   Badreddine Benachour
DF 8   Badr Gaddarine
MF 2   Anas El Asbahi
MF 9   Michael Babatunde
MF 21   Zouhair El Moutaraji
FW 19   Amin Tighazoui
FW 25   Gabriel Okechukwu
Manager:
  Faouzi Benzarti

Assistant referees:
Djibril Camara (Senegal)
El Hadji Samba (Senegal)
Fourth official:
Joshua Bondo (Botswana)

Match rules[1]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b With the score 1–0 in favor of Espérance de Tunis in the 59th minute, Walid El Karti scored a goal for Wydad AC which was subsequently ruled offside by the linesman. Due to a failure of the video assistant referee system, a review of the decision could not be conducted. Believing the goal was valid, Wydad AC protested the decision and the match was interrupted. After 80 minutes of stoppage, the referee ruled the match as a forfeit by Wydad AC and awarded to Espérance de Tunis, securing them the CAF Champions League title.[5] However, on 5 June 2019 the CAF Executive Committee ordered a replay of the second leg at a neutral venue, requiring Espérance de Tunis to return the trophy and medals.[6] However, the decision to order a replay of the second leg was thrown out by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on 31 July 2019, who required CAF to refer the case to its proper disciplinary structures for a decision.[7] On 7 August 2019, Espérance de Tunis were again officially declared champions after the CAF Disciplinary Board ruled that Wydad AC "is considered to have lost the game in the 2nd leg."[8] On 18 September 2020, CAS dismissed Wydad AC's appeal over the final and confirmed Espérance de Tunis as champions.[9]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "CAF Champions League regulations" (PDF). CAF.
  2. ^ "Moteab and Mboma to conduct Interclubs quarterfinals draw". CAF. 20 March 2019.
  3. ^ "Last eight teams know their opponents". CAF. 20 March 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Media start list: Wydad Athletic Club – E.S.T." (PDF). CAFonline.com. Confederation of African Football. 24 May 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  5. ^ "ES Tunis crowned CAF Champions in shambolic circumstances". AS.com. 1 June 2019. Archived from the original on 14 September 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  6. ^ "Caf Champions League: Esperance ordered to return medals and face Wydad Casablanca again". BBC Sport. 5 June 2019.
  7. ^ "Le Tribunal Arbitral du Sport (TAS) annule la décision du Comité Exécutif de la CAF" [The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) cancels the decision of the CAF Executive Committee] (PDF) (in French). Court of Arbitration for Sport. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  8. ^ "Decisions of the Disciplinary Board 7th of August 2019". CAF. 7 August 2019.
  9. ^ "CAS dismisses the appeal of Wydad Athletic Club" (PDF). Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). 18 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Media start list: E.S.T. – Wydad Athletic Club" (PDF). CAFonline.com. Confederation of African Football. 31 May 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.

External links edit

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