Caf ambassadors Mohamed Aboutrika (left) and Frederick Kanoute (right) with the trophy before the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations final football match between Ivory Coast and Ghana at the Bata Stadium in Bata, Equatorial Guinea on 8 February 2015. Picture: Barry Aldworth, BackpagePix
Cape Town – Egyptian football legend Mohamed Aboutrika has called on Al Ahly to withdraw from their CAF Champions League final clash against Wydad AC which is scheduled for the Stade Mohammed V in Morocco in two weeks time.
The decision to stage the upcoming final in Morocco has been met with controversy. Not only will it mark the second consecutive year that the final of the competition will be held in Morocco but it also gives Wydad home ground advantage over Pitso Mosimane’s side who are bidding to win the tournament for a third consecutive time.
Both Al Ahly and Wydad booked their places in the final last weekend. Mosimane’s side recorded a 6-2 aggregate win over ES Setif while Wydad beat Petro de Luanda 4-2 on aggregate.
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“Congratulations to Al Ahly for reaching the final and hard luck for ES Setif. Sometimes withdrawal and not being present is a championship in itself. I wish the Al-Ahly club’s board of directors to withdraw from the tournament in order to preserve its position and prestige against the injustice of CAF.
“I am sorry for my opinion in public but I did not find another way to support our beloved club,” said Aboutrika.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have said that they had to award the final to Morocco as it had no other candidates willing to stage the game that will be played on Monday, May 30.
The decision to award the final to Morocco has been met with anger from Al Ahly, Mosimane and the Egyptian Football Association (EFA).
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Al Ahly have since escalated the matter to FIFA for review and also appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to have the decision to stage the final in Morocco reviewed.
Al Ahly have slammed CAF for allegedly committing “violations that do not meet the Olympic Charter, FIFA and CAF regulations”.
“Al Ahly hopes that CAF will be keen not to disrupt justice and will provide CAS with all the required documents that will help in achieving justice,” stated Al Ahly.
The EFA are hoping that the game can be played at a neutral venue.
“The EFA completely disapproves of the CAF decision to allow Morocco to host the final. The EFA fully supports Al Ahly in getting their deserved and legal rights in that case. The EFA is willing to take any legal actions in order to preserve the rights of Al Ahly,” stated the EFA.
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