Club Africain protest Confed Cup final ref
Ali Yacoubi of Club Africain
Club Africain 1 MAS 0
Club Africain of Tunisia have protested to the Confederation of
African Football (CAF) the choice of Senegalese referee Badara Diatta for the
return leg final of the Confederation Cup.
The Tunisian club argue that Diatta is at the end of his refereeing career and as such he could be easily influenced in this final.
The 42-year-old Diatta has been an international referee since 1999 but has now reached the mandatory age for retirement.
They therefore demanded that a new and younger referee, who has a big future in his career, be appointed for the game against Maghreb de Fes of Morocco billed for December 4.
Club Africain won the first leg final courtesy of a first-half strike by Cameroonian midfielder Alexis Mendomo.
Meanwhile, recent winners of the CAF Champions League, Esperance of Tunisia have picked Osaka as their training site ahead of this year’s FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.
Esperance officials have twice visited Osaka to inspect the training facilities there.
They are drawn to battle Asian champions Al Sadd of Qatar in the quarterfinal of the global competition on December 11 for a chance to clash in the semi-final against mighty FC Barcelona.
‘The Blood and Gold’ are due to depart for Japan on November 27. The annual tournament is from December 8 to 18.
The Tunisian club argue that Diatta is at the end of his refereeing career and as such he could be easily influenced in this final.
The 42-year-old Diatta has been an international referee since 1999 but has now reached the mandatory age for retirement.
They therefore demanded that a new and younger referee, who has a big future in his career, be appointed for the game against Maghreb de Fes of Morocco billed for December 4.
Club Africain won the first leg final courtesy of a first-half strike by Cameroonian midfielder Alexis Mendomo.
Meanwhile, recent winners of the CAF Champions League, Esperance of Tunisia have picked Osaka as their training site ahead of this year’s FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.
Esperance officials have twice visited Osaka to inspect the training facilities there.
They are drawn to battle Asian champions Al Sadd of Qatar in the quarterfinal of the global competition on December 11 for a chance to clash in the semi-final against mighty FC Barcelona.
‘The Blood and Gold’ are due to depart for Japan on November 27. The annual tournament is from December 8 to 18.
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