Sunshine for ACL semis after Etoile expulsion
Sunshine Stars celebrate
Mikel opted out of AFCON tie
Sunshine Stars have qualified for the semi-finals of the CAF
Champions League following the expulsion of Etoile du Sahel for crowd trouble.
Tunisian club Etoile were expelled by Confederation of African Football (CAF) from the competition on Sunday after their home game against local rivals Esperance.
A media release by CAF cited Article 7 paragraph 6 of the regulations of the competition to throw Etoile out after crowd trouble forced their home game against Esperance was abandoned in the 69th minute.
Article 7 paragraph 6 of the competition’s regulations stipulated: “If the referee is forced to stop the match before the end of the regular time because of invasion of the field or aggression against the visiting team, the host team shall be considered loser and shall be eliminated from the competition, without prejudice to the sanctions existing in the regulations.”
Therefore this weekend’s clash in Tunis between defending champions Esperance and Sunshine will be the Nigerian club’s final group game and the outcome could well determine the winners of Group A.
Esperance are still top of the group on six points after their two matches against Etoile were cancelled, while Sunshine are second also on six points with their 0-0 draw with Etoile in Sousse also chalked off.
A draw or a win for hosts Esperance will see them finish top of the new three-team standings as they will still welcome bottom team ASO Chlef in a final group game.
The winners of Group A will clash with the runners-up in Group B, which currently looks like a straight fight between TP Mazembe and Berekum Chelsea of Ghana.
The Runners-up of Group A will face the winners of Group B, who are likely to be six-time champions Al Ahly of Egypt.
ASO Chlef remain pointless and their final group game at home against Esperance slated for the weekend of September 14-16 will be a mere formality as even a win for the Algerians would only earn them three points, not enough to unseat either Sunshine or Esperance.
Tunisian club Etoile were expelled by Confederation of African Football (CAF) from the competition on Sunday after their home game against local rivals Esperance.
A media release by CAF cited Article 7 paragraph 6 of the regulations of the competition to throw Etoile out after crowd trouble forced their home game against Esperance was abandoned in the 69th minute.
Article 7 paragraph 6 of the competition’s regulations stipulated: “If the referee is forced to stop the match before the end of the regular time because of invasion of the field or aggression against the visiting team, the host team shall be considered loser and shall be eliminated from the competition, without prejudice to the sanctions existing in the regulations.”
Therefore this weekend’s clash in Tunis between defending champions Esperance and Sunshine will be the Nigerian club’s final group game and the outcome could well determine the winners of Group A.
Esperance are still top of the group on six points after their two matches against Etoile were cancelled, while Sunshine are second also on six points with their 0-0 draw with Etoile in Sousse also chalked off.
A draw or a win for hosts Esperance will see them finish top of the new three-team standings as they will still welcome bottom team ASO Chlef in a final group game.
The winners of Group A will clash with the runners-up in Group B, which currently looks like a straight fight between TP Mazembe and Berekum Chelsea of Ghana.
The Runners-up of Group A will face the winners of Group B, who are likely to be six-time champions Al Ahly of Egypt.
ASO Chlef remain pointless and their final group game at home against Esperance slated for the weekend of September 14-16 will be a mere formality as even a win for the Algerians would only earn them three points, not enough to unseat either Sunshine or Esperance.
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