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
Atletico Madrid scored five goals against city rivals Real for the first time in nearly 75 years when they fought back from behind in a pulsating derby.
It was only the fourth time Atletico had scored at least five in a Madrid derby, the last occasion being a 6-3 victory in November 1950.
Real lost for the first time this season, having won all six of their opening La Liga matches as well as their first Champions League tie, a 2-1 victory over Marseille.
The last time Real conceded as many in La Liga was a 5-1 defeat by Barcelona in October 2018.
Robin le Normand’s header had given Diego Simeone’s side an early lead that was overturned by superb goals from Kylian Mbappe and Arda Guler.
But Alexander Sorloth levelled the game at 2-2 in stoppage time at the end of the first half.
And the hosts took charge after the break when Julian Alvarez, who had hit the post in the first half, converted from the penalty spot before curling home a brilliant free-kick.
Atletico went into their shell, but held their cross-city rivals at bay until Antoine Griezmann grabbed their fifth goal deep into stoppage time.
The result maintained an impressive record against Real in La Liga for Simeone’s side, who have not lost in their past six league encounters with Los Blancos.
PSG Regain Top Position In France (7)
Paris St-Germain returned to the top of Ligue 1 with a comfortable victory over Auxerre at the weekend.
Illia Zabarnyi scored his first goal for the club since his summer move from Bournemouth when he volleyed in at the back post from Vitihna’s cross at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
The home side doubled their lead when Lucas Beraldo headed home from Senny Mayulu’s cross.
PSG moved above Marseille, who beat them on Monday, as they made it five wins from their opening six league matches.
Auxerre had their chances, with a fierce shot from Kevin Danois striking the woodwork and Sekou Mara having a header cleared off the line.
There were further opportunities for Luis Enrique’s side but Achraf Hakimi’s dink was ruled out for offside and Bradley Barcola sent a header over the bar.
Auxerre are 13th in the table with four defeats from six matches.
PSG travel to Barcelona on Wednesday in their second Champions League group stage match.
Before the PSG match, Marseille scored two late goals to move level on points with hosts Strasbourg and go top of Ligue 1 on goal difference.
Strasbourg looked on track to move four points clear at the top until the 78th minute as Abdoul Ouattara’s goal had them ahead.
But former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang grabbed the equaliser, and Amir Murillo completed the turnaround as the clock ticked into added time.
Aubameyang was first to the rebound following his own shot to level the score after goalkeeper Mike Penders spilled the initial shot.
Penders, on loan from Chelsea, seemed to have done better in stoppage time when he tipped substitute Robinio Vaz’s header onto the crossbar, but the rebound landed with Murillo.
Marseille were top with five teams all on 12 points, including Strasbourg who were in fifth place.
Kane Sets Elite Scoring Record With Bayern (5)
Harry Kane scored twice in Bayern Munich’s win over Werder Bremen last Friday to become the fastest player this century to reach 100 goals for a club playing in one of Europe’s top five leagues.
The England captain won and converted a penalty on the stroke of half-time, before firing home from close range in the 65th minute to reach the century mark in just 104 games.
The previous record of 105 games was set by Cristiano Ronaldo while playing for Real Madrid in 2011, and matched by Manchester City striker Erling Haaland last year.
Former Liverpool winger Luis Diaz had opened the scoring when he deflected in a Jonathan Tah flick from a corner, while Konrad Laimer slipped home a late fourth as leaders Bayern preserved their unbeaten start to the season.
Kane broke two other records in his side’s 4-1 victory against Hoffenheim last weekend, during which he scored a hat-trick.
He reached 70 Bundesliga goals in just his 67th game in the competition, faster than anyone else in the league’s history.
Previously, the 32-year-old broke the record for the most goals scored in 50 Bundesliga games (54 goals), and the fewest number of games needed to reach 50 goals in the competition (43 matches).
On Friday, Kane also became the first player in Bundesliga history to convert their first 18 penalties, as well as score 18 consecutive spot-kicks.
Kane was the first player in Bundesliga history to finish top scorer in both his first two seasons, and the only player to score 25 or more goals in their first two campaigns in the competition.
He has started this campaign with 15 in eight games in all competitions – including two hat-tricks in five Bundesliga games, with Vincent Kompany’s side top of the league table with a 100% record.
Kane is the highest scoring Englishman in Champions League history (42 goals), and scored against all 20 teams he has faced in the Bundesliga.
Only Miroslav Klose has played against more sides, while scoring against all of them (28).
Kane joined Bayern from Tottenham Hotspur in a £100m transfer in 2023, having scored 280 goals in 435 games in all competitions for the Premier League club.
He has two years remaining on the four-year contract he signed with the Munich outfit, although he has recently been linked with former club Spurs and Manchester United.
But when asked on Friday if he was thinking of a Premier League return, Kane said: “No, not at the moment. I’m really happy here. I have two years left on my contract.
“I’m enjoying every moment. That is not in my thought process. I’m enjoying it with the team, with the coach, and hopefully we continue to be successful.”
Ange Postecoglou’s difficult start to life as Nottingham Forest head coach continued as Omar Alderete’s first-half goal gave Sunderland victory at the City Ground.
The former Spurs boss, appointed on 9 September, has now lost three and drawn two of his first five games in charge, with Saturday’s loss coming in his first home game with Forest.
But the hosts will feel aggrieved by the manner of Sunderland’s winner, with the visitors awarded a free-kick when Nicolas Dominguez was penalised for simulation when he clashed with Trai Hume while attempting to clear.
Grant Xhaka sent the ball in from the set-piece and Alderete was there to direct it into the net.
Dan Ndoye came close to equalising just before the break with a deflected effort before Chris Wood headed over.
Elliot Anderson curled a shot just over the bar as Forest pushed for the leveller in the second half, while Robin Roefs, who has been excellent for Sunderland so far this season – saved well from Omari Hutchinson, Wood and a long-range Anderson effort.
But despite the pressure, Forest could not find a goal as promoted Sunderland’s third win of the season moved them up to third in the table.
Forest, meanwhile, are 16th with just one win from their first six Premier League games.
Manchester United skipper Bruno Fernandes had a second-half penalty saved as Ruben Amorim’s side slipped to a Premier League defeat at Brentford at the weekend.
United were trying to fight their way back after Igor Thiago capitalised on some shambolic United defending inside the first 20 minutes to give the home side a two-goal cushion.
Benjamin Sesko pulled one back with his first goal since making a £74m summer move from RB Leipzig.
Fernandes was given the chance to level when Bees captain Nathan Collins dragged former Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo back inside the area.
After a delay of almost five minutes, which included a video assistant referee red card check against Collins and Brentford making two substitutions, Fernandes’ low effort was turned away by Caoimhin Kelleher.
Brentford wrapped it up deep in stoppage time when Mathias Jensen drove a high shot past United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir from the edge of the area.
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