annulling the 1-1 draw in Casablanca in the first leg
- was a load of nonsense.
Instead, CAS told CAF to send the matter to its
own disciplinary committee, who promptly confirmed
Esperance as winners but let Wydad off with just a
$50,000 fine.
CAF’s executive committee were pilloried in a
subsequent review of the case by Law in Sport, which
wrote: “There are obvious difficulties with the decision
of the CAF executive committee to overrule the
referee’s decision to award the match to Esperance
and order a replay of the abandoned match.
“But the more fundamental question is: why wasn’t
there a proper hearing?
“There were clear disputes of fact, there were
arguments about the rules that apply and about
the nature of the relevant rules. A just decision could
only conceivably be made after these aspects were
properly canvassed before a properly equipped
independent body.”
Ordinarily the entire incident would be the cause
of much embarrassment. But CAF is already
embroiled in a much deeper quagmire over the
corruption allegations against Ahmad, who remains
in charge despite the takeover of the running of the
organisation by FIFA.
Al Nassr begin the season with a
2-0 win against promoted Damac.
SUDAMERICANA CUP: The
quarter-final first leg between
Corinthians and Fluminense
ends goalless.Friday August 23
BELGIUM: Relinquishing his
managerial duties on match days
to concentrate on playing appears
to have no immediate benefit as
Vincent Kompany’s Anderlecht lose
again, 1-0 away to Genk.
CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Al
Ahly of Egypt thrash South Sudan’s
Atlabara 9-0 to triumph 13-0
over two legs and equal the
competition’s record aggregate
winning margin.
SWEDEN: Henrik Larsson quits as
manager of Helsingborg, with the
club saying he had been subjected
to verbal abuse that made his
situation “unsustainable”.Saturday August 24
CHILE: Esteban Paredes equals
Francisco Valdes’ record of 215
goals in the Chilean top flight as
Colo Colo draw 2-2 with Palestino.
ENGLAND: After three games,
Liverpool are the only side with a
100 per cent record in the Premier
League as they beat Arsenal 3-1.
GERMANY: Robert Lewandowski
scores a hat-trick as Bayern Munich
get their first victory of the season,
beating Schalke 3-0.
ITALY: Aaron Ramsey fails to make
the matchday squad and Matthijs
De Ligt is an unused substitute as
Juventus begin their Serie A title
defence with a 1-0 win at Parma.
PORTUGAL: Jose Luis and Moussa
Marega are on target as Porto beat
Benfica 2-0.Sunday August 25
BURKINA FASO: New national
coach Kamou Malo drops his own
son, defender Patrick Malo, from
the 27-man squad for September’s
international games.
CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: UD
Songo of Mozambica beat Simba of
Tanzania on away goals after forcing
a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their
preliminary-round tie.
ECUADOR: Macara beat Emelec
2-1 and become the first team
to qualify for the end-of-season
play-offs.
SPAIN: At 16 years 298 days, Ansu
Fati becomes the second-youngest
player in Barcelona’s history when
he comes on as a second-half sub
in a 5-2 victory over Real Betis.
USA: Robin Fraser replaces interim
Conor Casey as Colorado RapidsWORLD SERVICEFarce...Esperance were initially handed the trophy