2019 CAF Champions League Final
ES Tunis were declared champions after second leg was abandoned in Radès Stadium.
Event2018–19 CAF Champions League
Wydad AC Espérance de Tunis
Morocco Tunisia
1 2
First leg
Wydad AC Espérance de Tunis
1 1
Date24 May 2019 (2019-05-24)
VenuePrince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat
RefereeGehad Grisha (Egypt)
Second leg
Espérance de Tunis Wydad AC
1 0
Match abandoned[note 1]
Date31 May 2019 (2019-05-31)
VenueStade Olympique de Radès, Tunis
RefereeBakary Gassama (Gambia)

The 2019 CAF Champions League Final was the final of the 2018–19 CAF Champions League, the 55th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 23rd edition under the current CAF Champions League title.

The final was originally contested in two-legged home-and-away format between Wydad AC from Morocco and defending champions Espérance de Tunis from Tunisia. The first leg was hosted by Wydad AC at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat on 24 May 2019, while the second leg was hosted by Espérance de Tunis at the Stade Olympique de Radès in Tunis on 31 May 2019.[1]

Espérance de Tunis were initially declared winners following a refusal by Wydad AC to resume play following an issue with VAR, though CAF later ruled the second leg must be replayed in a neutral venue to decide the champions. However, the decision to order a replay was thrown out by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), who told the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to refer the case to its proper disciplinary structures for a decision, and on 7 August 2019, Espérance de Tunis were declared winners for a second time. As winners, they earned the right to play in the 2020 CAF Super Cup and the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup.

Teams

In the following table, finals until 1996 were in the African Cup of Champions Club era, since 1997 were in the CAF Champions League era.

Team Zone Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners)
Morocco Wydad AC UNAF (North Africa) 3 (1992, 2011, 2017)
Tunisia Espérance de Tunis UNAF (North Africa) 7 (1994, 1999, 2000, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2018)

Venues

Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco hosted the first leg.
Stade Olympique de Radès in Tunis, Tunisia, hosted the second leg.

Road to the final

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

Morocco Wydad AC Round Tunisia Espérance de Tunis
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Qualifying rounds Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
Senegal ASC Diaraf 3–3 (a) 2–0 (H) 1–3 (A) First round Bye
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
Ivory Coast ASEC Mimosas 5–2 (H) Matchday 1 Guinea Horoya 1–1 (A)
South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 1–2 (A) Matchday 2 Zimbabwe FC Platinum 2–0 (H)
Nigeria Lobi Stars 1–0 (A) Matchday 3 South Africa Orlando Pirates 0–0 (A)
Nigeria Lobi Stars 0–0 (H) Matchday 4 South Africa Orlando Pirates 2–0 (H)
Ivory Coast ASEC Mimosas 0–2 (A) Matchday 5 Guinea Horoya 2–0 (H)
South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 1–0 (H) Matchday 6 Zimbabwe FC Platinum 2–1 (A)
Group A winners

Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Morocco Wydad AC 6 10
2 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 6 10
3 Nigeria Lobi Stars 6 7
4 Ivory Coast ASEC Mimosas 6 7
Source: CAF
 Final standings Group B winners

Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Tunisia Espérance de Tunis 6 14
2 Guinea Horoya 6 10
3 South Africa Orlando Pirates 6 6
4 Zimbabwe FC Platinum 6 2
Source: CAF
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Knockout stage Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
Guinea Horoya 5–0 0–0 (A) 5–0 (H) Quarter-finals Algeria CS Constantine 6–3 3–2 (A) 3–1 (H)
South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 2–1 2–1 (H) 0–0 (A) Semi-finals Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe 1–0 1–0 (H) 0–0 (A)

Format

The final was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the order of legs determined by the knockout stage draw, which was held on 20 March 2019, 20:00 CAT (UTC+2), at the Marriot Hotel in Cairo, Egypt.[2][3]

If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would have been applied, and if still tied, extra time would not have been played, and a penalty shoot-out would have been used to determine the winner.[1]

Matches

First leg

Wydad AC Morocco1–1Tunisia Espérance de Tunis
  • Comara 79'
 Report
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Gehad Grisha (Egypt)
Wydad AC[4]
Espérance de Tunis[4]
GK26Morocco Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti
RB28Morocco Abdelatif Noussir
CB3Morocco Achraf DariYellow card 28'
CB29Ivory Coast Cheick Comara
LB22Morocco Ayoub El Amlouddownward-facing red arrow 77'
RM7Morocco Mohamed Ounajem
CM4Morocco Salaheddine Saidi
CM6Morocco Brahim Nekkach (c)Yellow card 42' Yellow-red card 49'
LM11Morocco Ismail El Haddad
CF18Morocco Walid El Kartidownward-facing red arrow 63'
CF9Nigeria Michael Babatundedownward-facing red arrow 62'
Substitutes:
GK12Morocco Badreddine Benachour
DF8Morocco Badr Gaddarineupward-facing green arrow 77'
MF21Morocco Zouhair El Moutaraji
MF24Morocco Yahya Jabraneupward-facing green arrow 63'
FW17Morocco Badie Aouk
FW20Morocco Ayman El HassouniYellow card 90+4'upward-facing green arrow 62'
FW25Nigeria Gabriel Okechukwu
Manager:
Tunisia Faouzi Benzarti
GK1Tunisia Moez Ben CherifiaYellow card 84'
RB22Tunisia Sameh DerbaliYellow card 68'
CB5Tunisia Chamseddine DhaouadiYellow card 23'
CB12Tunisia Khalil Chemmam (c)
LB20Tunisia Ayman Ben Mohamed
CM30Cameroon Franck Komdownward-facing red arrow 87'
CM15Ivory Coast Fousseny Coulibaly
RW8Tunisia Anice Badri
AM25Tunisia Ghailene ChaalaliYellow card 26'
LW10Algeria Youcef Belaïlidownward-facing red arrow 90+5'
CF29Nigeria Junior Lokosadownward-facing red arrow 88'
Substitutes:
GK23Tunisia Ali Jemal
DF6Tunisia Mohamed Ali Yacoubi
DF26Tunisia Houcine Rabii
MF17Libya Hamdou Elhouniupward-facing green arrow 90+5'
MF18Tunisia Saad Bguirupward-facing green arrow 87'
MF28Tunisia Mohamed Amine Meskini
FW11Tunisia Taha Yassine Khenissiupward-facing green arrow 88'
Manager:
Tunisia Moïne Chaâbani

Assistant referees:[4]
Waleed Ahmed (Sudan)
Abdelhak Etchiali (Algeria)
Fourth official:[4]
Bernard Camille (Seychelles)

Match rules[1]

  • 90 minutes.
  • Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used.

Second leg

Espérance de Tunis TunisiaAbandoned (1-0)[note 1]Morocco Wydad AC
 Report
Attendance: 60,000
Espérance de Tunis[10]
Wydad AC[4]
GK19Tunisia Rami Jridi
RB22Tunisia Sameh Derbali
CB6Tunisia Mohamed Ali Yacoubi
CB12Tunisia Khalil Chemmam (c)
LB20Tunisia Ayman Ben Mohamed
CM15Ivory Coast Fousseny CoulibalyYellow card 10'
CM30Cameroon Franck Kom
RW8Tunisia Anice Badri
AM18Tunisia Saad Bguir
LW10Algeria Youcef BelaïliYellow card 42'downward-facing red arrow 61'
CF11Tunisia Taha Yassine Khenissi
Substitutes:
GK23Tunisia Ali Jemal
DF24Tunisia Iheb Mbarki
DF26Tunisia Houcine Rabii
MF17Libya Hamdou Elhouniupward-facing green arrow 61'
MF28Tunisia Mohamed Amine Meskini
FW14Tunisia Haythem Jouini
FW29Nigeria Junior Lokosa
Manager:
Tunisia Moïne Chaâbani
GK26Morocco Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti
RB28Morocco Abdelatif Noussir (c)
CB30Morocco Mohamed Nahiri
CB29Ivory Coast Cheick Comara
LB22Morocco Ayoub El Amloud
DM4Morocco Salaheddine Saidi
RM11Morocco Ismail El Haddad
CM18Morocco Walid El Karti
CM24Morocco Yahya Jabrane
LM17Morocco Badie Aouk
CF20Morocco Ayman El Hassouni
Substitutes:
GK12Morocco Badreddine Benachour
DF8Morocco Badr Gaddarine
MF2Morocco Anas El Asbahi
MF9Nigeria Michael Babatunde
MF21Morocco Zouhair El Moutaraji
FW19Morocco Amin Tighazoui
FW25Nigeria Gabriel Okechukwu
Manager:
Tunisia Faouzi Benzarti

Assistant referees:
Djibril Camara (Senegal)
El Hadji Samba (Senegal)
Fourth official:
Joshua Bondo (Botswana)

Match rules[1]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 With the score 1–0 in favor of Espérance de Tunis in the 59th minute, Walid El Karti scored a goal for Wydad AC which was subsequently ruled offside by the linesman. Due to a failure of the video assistant referee system, a review of the decision could not be conducted. Believing the goal was valid, Wydad AC protested the decision and the match was interrupted. After 80 minutes of stoppage, the referee ruled the match as a forfeit by Wydad AC and awarded to Espérance de Tunis, securing them the CAF Champions League title.[5] However, on 5 June 2019 the CAF Executive Committee ordered a replay of the second leg at a neutral venue, requiring Espérance de Tunis to return the trophy and medals.[6] However, the decision to order a replay of the second leg was thrown out by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on 31 July 2019, who required CAF to refer the case to its proper disciplinary structures for a decision.[7] On 7 August 2019, Espérance de Tunis were again officially declared champions after the CAF Disciplinary Board ruled that Wydad AC "is considered to have lost the game in the 2nd leg."[8] On 18 September 2020, CAS dismissed Wydad AC's appeal over the final and confirmed Espérance de Tunis as champions.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "CAF Champions League regulations" (PDF). CAF.
  2. ↑ "Moteab and Mboma to conduct Interclubs quarterfinals draw". CAF. 20 March 2019.
  3. ↑ "Last eight teams know their opponents". CAF. 20 March 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Media start list: Wydad Athletic Club – E.S.T." (PDF). CAFonline.com. Confederation of African Football. 24 May 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  5. ↑ "ES Tunis crowned CAF Champions in shambolic circumstances". AS.com. 1 June 2019. Archived from the original on 14 September 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  6. ↑ "Caf Champions League: Esperance ordered to return medals and face Wydad Casablanca again". BBC Sport. 5 June 2019.
  7. ↑ "Le Tribunal Arbitral du Sport (TAS) annule la décision du Comité Exécutif de la CAF" [The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) cancels the decision of the CAF Executive Committee] (PDF) (in French). Court of Arbitration for Sport. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  8. ↑ "Decisions of the Disciplinary Board 7th of August 2019". CAF. 7 August 2019.
  9. ↑ "CAS dismisses the appeal of Wydad Athletic Club" (PDF). Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). 18 September 2020.
  10. ↑ "Media start list: E.S.T. – Wydad Athletic Club" (PDF). CAFonline.com. Confederation of African Football. 31 May 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
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