Sports
Are The Walls Closing In On CAF President?
The events of the recent weeks have made it increasingly clear that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) head honcho may lack the chops to lead
It will only really become apparent, in time, just how seismic, and potentially damaging, the recent weeks have been for the Confederation of African Football.
It is not so much what happens as how one handles it, but it is important to establish what came before.
On the 31st of May, the CAF Champions League final second leg took place in Rades, Tunis. Defending champions, Esperance, fresh from a 1-1 result from the first leg in Rabat, welcomed Wydad Casablanca with the odds firmly stacked in their favour, thanks to the away goal.
However, behind the scenes, trouble had already begun to brew.
Hawk-Eye innovations, tasked with providing the equipment for the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system, had been unable to get it across to Tunisia in time. This meant that the second leg would have to be played without it, in contrast to the first.
It is unclear whether or not this state of affairs was relayed to both teams, and whether that would have forestalled what was about to happen. In any case, the match kicked off with the VAR monitor propped up, in what now appears to have been a face-saving move on the part of CAF.
Esperance took the lead five minutes before the break, taking the advantage in the tie, but it did not really change Wydad’s mandate: they had come into the game needing to score anyway. It was all set up for a cracker of a second half.
On the hour mark, however, it all blew up.
Wydad thought they had got an equalizer when midfielder Walid El-Karti darted into the box to head home from a cross. The linesman’s flag, however, went up to annul the goal, a decision which incensed the Moroccan side.
It then returns to what report one believes as to whether both teams were advised beforehand of the absence of VAR. If, as Esperance claim, they were, then what followed by Wydad was gamesmanship of the highest order: they insisted, vehemently, that the goal be reviewed by the system.
Even if one were to believe Wydad’s claim that they were not informed of the technical issues beforehand, it displayed an ignorance of the workings of VAR, as it is not the players’ place to demand a review, as is the case in, say, tennis.
Their protests would hold up the game, pulling CAF President Ahmad Ahmad from the stands and onto the pitch itself in search of a solution to the ensuing mayhem. After a wait that lasted well over 30 minutes, the decision was apparently reached that Wydad’s actions constituted a forfeit, and so the game was awarded to Esperance, as was the trophy.
A presentation took place, and captain Khalil Chemmam held the trophy aloft, celebrating a second Caf Champions League triumph in a row.
That, however, was only the beginning, and set the stage for what could potentially become one of the most damaging decisions in the history of African football.
Wydad, smouldering still at the perceived injustice of it all, decided they would appeal, and after consultations, the president of the Morocco FA, Fouzi Lekjaa, indicated they would be throwing their entire weight behind the complaint. Four days after the final, in Paris, Caf ruled that the second leg should be replayed at a neutral venue, and that Esperance would be required to return the trophy, as well as the medals they had received in the presentation ceremony.
For a number of reasons, it was a worrying decision. For one thing, there has been a suspicion that Ahmad enjoys a lot of support from Morocco, and so this is already being construed as the president of Caf dancing to the tune of his benefactor.
Also, in keeping with the theme but in a broader sense, sub-Saharan Africa has, over time, grown increasingly irritated with North Africa’s entitlement where Caf competition is concerned. That they are now seen to be dictating to Caf does nothing to improve that perception, and will only stoke that resentment.
Optics aside, the precedent it all sets is a concern.
VAR, for all that it is the future, is only a recent addition to the African game, and was only in place for the finals. Surely, the integrity of the event should not hinge and turn upon its presence; indeed, it is not stated in the laws of the game that, in its absence, a game should not take place. This makes Wydad’s refusal to continue tantamount to a forfeit, and as such the initial decision to award the trophy was the correct one, even acknowledging that the Moroccan side has a legitimate grievance (the goal, as TV replays would show, should have been allowed to stand).
The sense of farce would only deepen.
Twelve hours after that decision was reached, Ahmad was arrested and taken in for questioning by the French police.
There were no details released, but reportedly this was to do with a sports equipment procurement contract for the Championship of African Nations in 2018 that was awarded to French company Tactical Steel at a huge mark-up, despite an agreement already being in place with the manufacturers.
While he was eventually released without charge – as Caf have been particularly eager to stress through their various communication channels – it does heighten the sense that Africa’s football leadership is constantly teetering on the brink of chaos, and all it takes is the slightest gust to send it over the edge.
What it does seem like, as each day passes, is that Ahmad’s lack of capacity and suitability for the job will inevitably do him in…the only question is when.
Solace Chukwu
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has said that the Premier League leaders must win trophies if they were to be remembered like the “Invincibles” side that last won the title for the Gunners in 2004.
Arsene Wenger’s side romped to the title 22 years ago without losing a single league game.
Arsenal headede into last night’s clash at home to reigning champions Liverpool with a five-point lead at the top of the table after Manchester City and Aston Villa dropped points against Brighton and Hove Albion and Crystal Palace, respectively on Wednesday.
Arteta’s men, runners-up for the past three seasons, have two more points and four more goals than Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ managed after 20 games.
But the Spaniard said those stats matter little unless Arsenal go on to win the league.
“No, because ‘the Invincibles’ won a lot,” Arteta told his pre-match press conference on whether his side can be considered better than Arsenal’s last title winners.
“They won consistently, and they created a history and a legacy, and we have to do that.”
The lone major piece of silverware won by Arsenal in six years under Arteta remains the 2020 FA Cup
“There are a lot of stats, but in the last two or three years we have managed more points and more goals than ever before. But at the end, we have to translate that to major trophies,” he added.
“Probably doing what we are doing now would have been enough (in 2004), but now it’s not, and we have to make the margins even bigger.”
Arsenal lost 1-0 to Liverpool at Anfield back in August in what was billed as an early showdown between title rivals.
The defending champions headed to the Emirates 14 points off the top after a difficult second season for Arne Slot, but Arteta insisted the Reds remain a superb side.
The Gunners were without sidelined defenders Riccardo Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera but were“monitoring the load” on Kai Havertz as the Germany forward intensified his training while continuing to recover from a long-term leg injury.
Nigeria sharpshooters Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman will provide a stern test to the flawless record of Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane, a son of French football icon Zinedine Zidane, in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals in Morocco.
Zidane is the only first-choice goalkeeper amongst the eight quarter-finalists to have kept a clean sheet in all of his tournament matches so far, but the task facing him in Marrakesh tomorrow will not be easy.
Former African player of the year award-winners Osimhen and Lookman have tormented defences during the tournament, scoring three goals each.
Zidane, 27, kept clean sheets in group matches against Sudan and Burkina Faso before being rested against Equatorial Guinea.
He was recalled for a last-16 clash with the Democratic Republic of Congo and once again was unbeaten during a dramatic extra-time victory.
Former Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, his Spanish wife and another son have been among the crowds in each match Luca played for the Desert Foxes.
“It is special when your family come to watch,” said Luca Zidane, who began his career with Real Madrid B in 2016 and now plays for Spanish second-tier side Granada.
Born in France, Zidane represented his country of birth at five age-limit levels. Under FIFA rules he could also play for Spain or Algeria, where his grandparents were born.
Zidane chose Algeria, debuting in a 2026 World Cup qualifying victory over Uganda last November and, when an injury ruled first choice Alexis Guendoez out of the AFCON, he was promoted.
“I am proud to represent Algeria and play in the Africa Cup of Nations. It is a great experience,” he told reporters.
“I try to be myself, to build my career on my terms, step by step,” he said.
Algeria have been an AFCON bogey team for Nigeria, winning four and drawing two of nine meetings, including a 5-1 drubbing of the Super Eagles en route to winning the 1990 tournament at home. But the current Super Eagles appear to be in the mood to get this one over the Algerians.
The Desert Foxes have put successive group-stage exits behind them under Bosnian coach Vladimir Petkovic and substitute Adil Boulbina unleashed a thunderbolt to eliminate DR Congo.
Nigeria are the 12-goal leading scorers in Morocco with Osimhen, Lookman and Akor Adams forming a potent frontline.
But coach Eric Chelle will be concerned that the three-time champions have conceded four, the most among the eight title hopefuls.
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has said that the club would sell captain Marc Guehi this month if his asking price is met.
The England defender is out of contract in the summer and Manchester City have emerged as contenders to sign him during the January transfer window.
Palace blocked a proposed £35m move to Liverpool last summer but risk losing the 25-year-old for nothing at the end of the season.
City’s interest in Guehi has progressed following injuries to defenders Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias during Sunday’s draw against Chelsea.
“I’m not naive,” said Glasner, as reported by Tidesports source. “If a massive offer comes from City and Marc wants to do it, it will happen.”
Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid are among the European clubs to have shown an interest in signing Guehi on a free transfer, and he can sign a pre-contract agreement with an overseas club from this month.
“If you’re just valuing sports, everyone in the club will say Marc has to stay,” Glasner added. “The chairman will tell you the same. But it’s not one-dimensional. If you see the financial situation, it’s very important.
“If somebody comes, there will be a moment when the club says ‘now the financial issue is more important than the sports issue’.
“There will be a threshold where the club has to say it will happen, as long as Marc says ‘I want to leave’, because the final decision is always with the player.”
Guehi helped Palace finish 12th last season and win the FA Cup to qualify for Europe for the first time in the club’s history.
The Eagles then won the Community Shield in August, beating Premier League champions Liverpool on penalties, and are 14th in the table and through to the knockout phase play-offs in the Uefa Conference League.
“The chairman rejected many offers in the summer because we want to play a successful season and wanted to win the Community Shield,” Glasner added. “Therefore, Marc is important, and then he rejected the offer.
“The threshold at that time, the money we got offered was not above it. Maybe it was close, but it was not above.”
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