Sports
Esperance Fail To Win Third Consecutive CAF Champions League Title
Moroccan referee Redouane Jiyed (C-R) presents a purple card to an Esperance’s midfielder Mohamed Ben Romdhane (C-L) through the first leg of the CAF Champions League Quarter-final soccer match between Egypt’s Zamalek and Tunisia’s Esperance on the Cairo Worldwide Stadium within the capital on February 28, 2020.
Khaled DESOUKI / AFP
Tunisian membership Esperance this weekend grew to become the newest victims of a jinx that has prevented any membership successful the CAF Champions League three consecutive occasions.
Zamalek of Egypt defeated the 2018 and 2019 trophy-holders Three-2 on mixture in a quarter-final after dropping the second leg 1-Zero in Tunis Friday.
Esperance joined Al Ahly of Egypt and TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo (twice every) and Enyimba of Nigeria as back-to-back title winners who couldn’t full a treble.
The Tunisians, who additionally misplaced to Zamalek within the one-off CAF Tremendous Cup match final month, had been hit by a sequence of suspensions earlier than the second leg of the Champions League conflict.
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Coach Moine Chaabani and his deputy, Mejdi Traoui, had been banned for 4 matches and fined for aggressive behaviour, offensive language and threats after a Three-1 first-leg loss in Cairo.
Captain and center-back Khalil Chemmam obtained a six-match ban and a $40,000 (35,500 euro) fantastic for spitting on the Moroccan match officers and utilizing offensive language.
Midfielder Abdelraouf Benguit acquired a four-match suspension and a $20,000 fantastic for utilizing offensive language towards the referees.
In addition to the person sanctions, Esperance had been fined $10,000 as a result of their supporters threw flares on the Cairo Worldwide Stadium.
Failed CAF Champions League treble bids:
1969
Mazembe (misplaced 5-Three on mixture to Ismailia of Egypt in ultimate)
2005
Enyimba (eradicated after ending third in Group A)
2007
Ahly (misplaced Three-1 on mixture to Etoile Sahel of Tunisia in ultimate)
2011
Mazembe (disqualified after spherical of 32 for fielding ineligible participant)
2014
Ahly (misplaced Four-2 on mixture to Al Ahly Benghazi of Libya in spherical of 16)
2020
Esperance (misplaced Three-2 on mixture to Zamalek of Egypt in quarter-finals)
AFP