The second leg of the CAF Champions League final will be replayed after a VAR issue led to Moroccan club Wydad Casablanca walking off in protest and Tunisian side Esperance was awarded the victory.
Wydad refused to continue playing because their equalising goal with around 30 minutes remaining in the second leg was disallowed for offside and no video replay was available. The players had not been told the video system wasn’t working.
After a long delay, Esperance was awarded the Champions League title. But that outcome was overturned by the Confederation of African Football executive committee on Wednesday at a meeting in Paris, with the conduct of Esperance denounced.
No official announcement, or explanation behind the decision, was immediately made by CAF. However, committee members and the two clubs confirmed the decision.
Esperance are expected to appeal against the ruling, club officials said on Wednesday.
The Moroccan Football Federation, whose president Fouzi Lekjaa is a powerful figure within the CAF executive committee, said that the players had not been informed about the VAR technology being faulty.
Rules set by the game’s lawmakers, the International Football Association Board, state that a match cannot be invalidated because of VAR technology malfunctioning or if there is a wrong decision involving VAR.
