2019 CAF Champions League Final

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.

2019 CAF Champions League Final
Event2018–19 CAF Champions League
Wydad Casablanca Espérance de Tunis
Espérance de Tunis were declared champions after second leg was abandoned.
First leg
Wydad Casablanca 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 Casablanca
Match abandoned[note 1]
Date31 May 2019 (2019-05-31)
VenueStade Olympique de Radès, Radès
RefereeBakary Gassama (Gambia)

The final was originally contested in two-legged home-and-away format between Wydad Casablanca from Morocco and defending champions Espérance de Tunis from Tunisia. The first leg was hosted by Wydad Casablanca 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 Radès on 31 May 2019.[1]

Espérance de Tunis were initially declared winners following a refusal by Wydad Casablanca 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. The winner will earn the right to play in the 2020 CAF Super Cup in February 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)
Wydad Casablanca UNAF (North Africa) 3 (1992, 2011, 2017)
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 Radès, Tunisia, hosted the second leg.

Road to the final
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 Casablanca 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 Pld Pts
1 Wydad Casablanca 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 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

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 Casablanca 1–1 Espérance de Tunis
 Report
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Gehad Grisha (Egypt)
Wydad Casablanca[4]
Espérance de Tunis[4]
GK26 Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti
RB28 Abdelatif Noussir
CB3 Achraf Dari 28'
CB29 Cheick Comara
LB22 Ayoub El Amloud 77'
RM7 Mohamed Ounajem
CM4 Salaheddine Saidi
CM6 Brahim Nekkach (c) 42'  49'
LM11 Ismail El Haddad
CF18 Walid El Karti 63'
CF9 Michael Babatunde 62'
Substitutes:
GK12 Badreddine Benachour
DF8 Badr Gaddarine 77'
MF21 Zouhair El Moutaraji
MF24 Yahya Jabrane 63'
FW17 Badie Aouk
FW20 Ayman El Hassouni 90+4' 62'
FW25 Gabriel Okechukwu
Manager:
Faouzi Benzarti
GK1 Moez Ben Cherifia 84'
RB22 Sameh Derbali 68'
CB5 Chamseddine Dhaouadi 23'
CB12 Khalil Chemmam (c)
LB20 Ayman Ben Mohamed
CM30 Franck Kom 87'
CM15 Fousseny Coulibaly
RW8 Anice Badri
AM25 Ghailene Chaalali 26'
LW10 Youcef Belaïli 90+5'
CF29 Junior Lokosa 88'
Substitutes:
GK23 Ali Jemal
DF6 Mohamed Ali Yacoubi
DF26 Houcine Rabii
MF17 Hamdou Elhouni 90+5'
MF18 Saad Bguir 87'
MF28 Mohamed Amine Meskini
FW11 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
Espérance de Tunis Abandoned[note 1] Wydad Casablanca
 Report
Attendance: 60,000
Espérance de Tunis[10]
Wydad Casablanca[4]
GK19 Rami Jridi
RB22 Sameh Derbali
CB6 Mohamed Ali Yacoubi
CB12 Khalil Chemmam (c)
LB20 Ayman Ben Mohamed
CM15 Fousseny Coulibaly 10'
CM30 Franck Kom
RW8 Anice Badri
AM18 Saad Bguir
LW10 Youcef Belaïli 42' 61'
CF11 Taha Yassine Khenissi
Substitutes:
GK23 Ali Jemal
DF24 Iheb Mbarki
DF26 Houcine Rabii
MF17 Hamdou Elhouni 61'
MF28 Mohamed Amine Meskini
FW14 Haythem Jouini
FW29 Junior Lokosa
Manager:
Moïne Chaâbani
GK26 Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti
RB28 Abdelatif Noussir (c)
CB30 Mohamed Nahiri
CB29 Cheick Comara
LB22 Ayoub El Amloud
DM4 Salaheddine Saidi
RM11 Ismail El Haddad
CM18 Walid El Karti
CM24 Yahya Jabrane
LM17 Badie Aouk
CF20 Ayman El Hassouni
Substitutes:
GK12 Badreddine Benachour
DF8 Badr Gaddarine
MF2 Anas El Asbahi
MF9 Michael Babatunde
MF21 Zouhair El Moutaraji
FW19 Amin Tighazoui
FW25 Gabriel Okechukwu
Manager:
Faouzi Benzarti

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

Match rules[1]

See also

Notes
  1. With the score 1–0 in favor of Espérance de Tunis in the 59th minute, Walid El Karti scored a goal for Wydad Casablanca 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 Casablanca protested the decision and the match was interrupted. After 80 minutes of stoppage, the referee ruled the match as a forfeit by Wydad Casablanca 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 Casablanca "is considered to have lost the game in the 2nd leg."[8][9]

References
  1. "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. "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. https://en.as.com/en/2019/05/31/football/1559332942_123937.html
  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. "Espérance de Tunis declared valid winners of 2019 CAF Champions League". CGTN. 7 August 2019.
  9. "Decisions of the Disciplinary Board 7th of August 2019". CAF. 7 August 2019.
  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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