2019 CAF Champions League final

Football match

2019 CAF Champions League Final

ES Tunis were declared champions after second leg was abandoned in Radès Stadium.

Event| 2018–19 CAF Champions League
| Wydad AC | Espérance de Tunis

|

1 | 2
First leg
| Wydad AC | Espérance de Tunis

|

1 | 1
Date| 24 May 2019 (2019-05-24)
Venue| Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat
Referee| Gehad Grisha (Egypt)
Second leg
| Espérance de Tunis | Wydad AC

|

1 | 0
Match abandoned[note 1]
Date| 31 May 2019 (2019-05-31)
Venue| Stade Olympique de Radès, Tunis
Referee| Bakary Gassama (Gambia)

← 2018

2020 →

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

[edit]

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)

|
|

Wydad AC | UNAF (North Africa) | 3 (1992, 2011, 2017)
Espérance de Tunis | UNAF (North Africa) | 7 (1994, 1999, 2000, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2018)

## Venues

[edit]

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

[edit]

Further information: 2018–19 CAF Champions League

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

Wydad AC | Round  |  Espérance de Tunis

|
|

Opponent  | Agg.  | 1st leg  | 2nd leg  | Qualifying rounds | Opponent  | Agg.  | 1st leg  | 2nd leg
ASC Diaraf | 3–3 (a)  | 2–0 (H)  | 1–3 (A)  | First round  | Bye
Opponent  | Result  | Group stage | Opponent  | Result
ASEC Mimosas | 5–2 (H)  | Matchday 1  |  Horoya | 1–1 (A)
Mamelodi Sundowns | 1–2 (A)  | Matchday 2  |  FC Platinum | 2–0 (H)
Lobi Stars | 1–0 (A)  | Matchday 3  |  Orlando Pirates | 0–0 (A)
Lobi Stars | 0–0 (H)  | Matchday 4  |  Orlando Pirates | 2–0 (H)
ASEC Mimosas | 0–2 (A)  | Matchday 5  |  Horoya | 2–0 (H)
Mamelodi Sundowns | 1–0 (H)  | Matchday 6  |  FC Platinum | 2–1 (A)
Group A winners

| Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | Pts

|
|
|

1  |  Wydad AC | 6  | 10
2  |  Mamelodi Sundowns | 6  | 10
3  |  Lobi Stars | 6  | 7
4  |  ASEC Mimosas | 6  | 7

Source: CAF

Final standings  | Group B winners

| Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | Pts

|
|
|

1  |  Espérance de Tunis | 6  | 14
2  |  Horoya | 6  | 10
3  |  Orlando Pirates | 6  | 6
4  |  FC Platinum | 6  | 2

Source: CAF

Opponent  | Agg.  | 1st leg  | 2nd leg  | Knockout stage | Opponent  | Agg.  | 1st leg  | 2nd leg
Horoya | 5–0  | 0–0 (A)  | 5–0 (H)  | Quarter-finals  |  CS Constantine | 6–3  | 3–2 (A)  | 3–1 (H)
Mamelodi Sundowns | 2–1  | 2–1 (H)  | 0–0 (A)  | Semi-finals  |  TP Mazembe | 1–0  | 1–0 (H)  | 0–0 (A)

## Format

[edit]

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

[edit]

### First leg

[edit]

24 May 2019 (2019-05-24)

22:00 UTC+0

Wydad AC | 1–1|  Espérance de Tunis

|
|

* Comara 79'

| Report |

* Coulibaly 44'

Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat

Attendance: 50,000

Referee: Gehad Grisha (Egypt)

Wydad AC[4]

Espérance de Tunis[4]

|

|  |

|

GK | 26 |  Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti
RB | 28 |  Abdelatif Noussir
CB | 3 |  Achraf Dari |  28'
CB | 29 |  Cheick Comara
LB | 22 |  Ayoub El Amloud |  |  77'
RM | 7 |  Mohamed Ounajem
CM | 4 |  Salaheddine Saidi
CM | 6 |  Brahim Nekkach (c) |  42'  49'
LM | 11 |  Ismail El Haddad
CF | 18 |  Walid El Karti |  |  63'
CF | 9 |  Michael Babatunde |  |  62'
Substitutes:
GK | 12 |  Badreddine Benachour
DF | 8 |  Badr Gaddarine |  |  77'
MF | 21 |  Zouhair El Moutaraji
MF | 24 |  Yahya Jabrane |  |  63'
FW | 17 |  Badie Aouk
FW | 20 |  Ayman El Hassouni |  90+4' |  62'
FW | 25 |  Gabriel Okechukwu
Manager:
Faouzi Benzarti
|  |  |

|

GK | 1 |  Moez Ben Cherifia |  84'
RB | 22 |  Sameh Derbali |  68'
CB | 5 |  Chamseddine Dhaouadi |  23'
CB | 12 |  Khalil Chemmam (c)
LB | 20 |  Ayman Ben Mohamed
CM | 30 |  Franck Kom |  |  87'
CM | 15 |  Fousseny Coulibaly
RW | 8 |  Anice Badri
AM | 25 |  Ghailene Chaalali |  26'
LW | 10 |  Youcef Belaïli |  |  90+5'
CF | 29 |  Junior Lokosa |  |  88'
Substitutes:
GK | 23 |  Ali Jemal
DF | 6 |  Mohamed Ali Yacoubi
DF | 26 |  Houcine Rabii
MF | 17 |  Hamdou Elhouni |  |  90+5'
MF | 18 |  Saad Bguir |  |  87'
MF | 28 |  Mohamed Amine Meskini
FW | 11 |  Taha Yassine Khenissi |  |  88'
Manager:
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

[edit]

31 May 2019 (2019-05-31)

22:00 UTC+1

Espérance de Tunis | Abandoned
at the result 1–0[note 1]|  Wydad AC

|
|

* Belaïli 41'

| Report |

Stade Olympique de Radès, Tunis

Attendance: 60,000

Referee: Bakary Gassama (Gambia)

Espérance de Tunis[10]

Wydad AC[4]

|

|  |

|

GK | 19 |  Rami Jridi
RB | 22 |  Sameh Derbali
CB | 6 |  Mohamed Ali Yacoubi
CB | 12 |  Khalil Chemmam (c)
LB | 20 |  Ayman Ben Mohamed
CM | 15 |  Fousseny Coulibaly |  10'
CM | 30 |  Franck Kom
RW | 8 |  Anice Badri
AM | 18 |  Saad Bguir
LW | 10 |  Youcef Belaïli |  42' |  61'
CF | 11 |  Taha Yassine Khenissi
Substitutes:
GK | 23 |  Ali Jemal
DF | 24 |  Iheb Mbarki
DF | 26 |  Houcine Rabii
MF | 17 |  Hamdou Elhouni |  |  61'
MF | 28 |  Mohamed Amine Meskini
FW | 14 |  Haythem Jouini
FW | 29 |  Junior Lokosa
Manager:
Moïne Chaâbani
|  |  |

|

GK | 26 |  Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti
RB | 28 |  Abdelatif Noussir (c)
CB | 30 |  Mohamed Nahiri
CB | 29 |  Cheick Comara
LB | 22 |  Ayoub El Amloud
DM | 4 |  Salaheddine Saidi
RM | 11 |  Ismail El Haddad
CM | 18 |  Walid El Karti
CM | 24 |  Yahya Jabrane
LM | 17 |  Badie Aouk
CF | 20 |  Ayman El Hassouni
Substitutes:
GK | 12 |  Badreddine Benachour
DF | 8 |  Badr Gaddarine
MF | 2 |  Anas El Asbahi
MF | 9 |  Michael Babatunde
MF | 21 |  Zouhair El Moutaraji
FW | 19 |  Amin Tighazoui
FW | 25 |  Gabriel Okechukwu
Manager:
Faouzi Benzarti

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

Match rules[1]

* 90 minutes.
* Penalty shoot-out if tied on aggregate and away goals.
* Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used.

|

## See also

[edit]

* 2019 CAF Confederation Cup Final
* 2020 CAF Super Cup

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b 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

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d "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. ^ a b c d e "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.

## External links

[edit]

* Total CAF Champions League 2018/2019, CAFonline.com

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