The African Champions League final will be replayed after the end of the original match | Soccer

The return match of the African Champions League final will be replayed after the abandonment of the original match and the match awarded to Tunisian Esperance when Wydad Casablanca left the field following a disputed decision.

The executive committee of the African Football Confederation, meeting in Paris on the sidelines of the Fifa Congress, decided Wednesday to postpone the game on a neutral ground, a decision that could provoke an immediate legal challenge.

Wydad Casablanca refused to play after being stripped of their effort in the 59th minute in the return match of the final in Tunis last Friday.

The VAR system was not working and after nearly two hours behind the game, the game was awarded to the Spanish club Esperance, to whom the winner's trophy and medals were awarded.

The first leg in Casablanca on May 25th was over 1 to 1 and Esperance won 1-0 in the second leg a week later, while Wydad thought he had equalized, but that the referee had to signal the offside.

This triggered protests that continued for about 90 minutes before the match was finally canceled in scenes that bordered on farce, with even Caf's president, Ahmad Ahmad, descending the pitch to try to solve the problem without success. .

No official announcement or explanation of the decision was made immediately by Caf. But the members of the committee and the two clubs confirmed the decision.

Hope should appeal this decision, club officials said on Wednesday.

The Moroccan football federation, whose president, Fouzi Lekjaa, is a powerful figure on the CAF's executive committee, said the players had not been informed of the VAR technology's failure.

The rules defined by the law makers of the game, the Council of the International Football Association (Football Association), stipulate that a match can not be invalidated due to a malfunction of the VAR technology or in case of a bad decision involving VAR.

Any resumption should take place after the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, to be held in Egypt from June 21st to July 19th.