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Johannesburg – Hope won the CAF Champions League in Tunisia Saturday after Wydad Casablanca refused to continue playing for 60 minutes because VAR was not available to judge an unauthorized equalizer.
The Tunisian team led 1-0 in the second leg of the final and 2 to 1 in the final standings when the game was interrupted. After a delay of 90 minutes, the referee granted the match to the host club.
The Tunisian media reported that officials knew before the match that the VAR (video badistant referee) system was not working, but that the players apparently did not know it.
This is the first time in 55 years history of the African elite club competition that a match in the final round-trip series is not over.
Wydad thought he had stabilized in the 59th minute when Walid el Karti had centered the ball in the net. The television broadcasts confirmed that he was on his side, but that he might have stained an opponent with his shoulder.
The Moroccan team insisted that the Gambian referee check with VAR, apparently without knowing that the system, often controversial, was not available.
Substitutes Wydad and 69 – year – old coach Faouzi Benzarti took part in the rally, and the police foiled an attempt to badault a spectator wearing red and white. Gold of Hope.
Plastic bottles containing liquid were also thrown at Wydad players and coaches as temperaments set in.
At one point, CAF President Ahmad Ahmad and the bosses of Esperance and Wydad spoke to the side of the pitch but failed to restart the match.
The Wydad players and coaches finally made their way to the locker room and, after a long delay, the referee indicated that the match had been awarded to Esperance.
The social media debacle sparked a lot of criticism and many tweets said the cancellation of the club's representation was a shame for African football.
The abandonment took place just 20 days before the launch in Egypt of an African Cup of Nations composed of 24 extended teams, the VAR to be used during the round of 16.
Last weekend, VAR played a major role in the first leg of the final in Morocco. The referrals excluded a goal from Wydad and then demanded a penalty from the Moroccans.
The Egyptian referee of this match was then banned for six months. CAF said its performance was "poor".
Esperance, three-time world champion, took the lead in 41 minutes when Youcef Belaili scored a shot from the edge of the box at the Olympic Stadium.
The Tunisian team dominated the first half and deserved to lead at half-time in the 60,000-seat stadium.
But the way Esperance won the contest for the second time in a row has lost much of its success.
They are only the fourth club after Al Ahly, of Egypt, TP Mazembe, of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Enyimba, of Nigeria, to win two consecutive victories in the Champions League.
Finally, beating his undefeated CAF 2019 campaign, which equals the 1994 team, Esperance became the first club to win the competition twice without losing a match.
It was also a special night for 37-year-old coach Moine Chaabani, who became the first in North Africa to win two Champions League finals in a row.
The citizens of Tunis reacted to this triumph by throwing themselves in the streets and screaming with joy as cars and motorbikes crisscrossed the capital honking.
Many Hope supporters gathered in the cafe of the same name, where the club was established 100 years ago.
????????
?? We are the champions ?? We are Africa ??
???? We are TARAJI DAWLA ??????#TotalCAFCLChampion #TotalCAFCLFinal #ESTWAC pic.twitter.com/6sMNSOiM03– Esperance of Tunis ?? (@ESTuniscom) May 31, 2019
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