Good grief.
At least there isn’t an important game tomorrow...
It was such a weird game, so gripping to watch even though no football was being played at that point. I notice that the BBC are reporting it this morning with an official take on things, but so much has been left out of the story.
It was 2-1 on aggregate and then Wydad Casablanca equalised but it was initially ruled out for an infringement. Replays on the tv coverage clearly showed that the goal should have stood and the Gambian referee signalled it was going to VAR. The problem is that he apparently knew before the game that VAR was broken but nobody else was told, including the players and coaching staff so when they found out they naturally protested.
Chaos ensued and there was a melee between both benches. The home crowd started raining objects down on the touchline and there were laser pens shining from all corners of the stadium. One of the Casablanca was incredibly angry and picked up many of the objects and directed them at opposition players and staff. At one point some children were brought in a line past the benches towards the tunnel and to the supporters credit, they did stop throwing things until the children were out of the way.
After about half an hour the CAF president made it to the pitch and spoke to the officials. Eventually he directed the referee to go and look at the VAR screen which we already know doesn't work. He looked at the screen for a while, went back on to the pitch and gave the VAR signal with his hands, blew his whistle but made no indication of a decision. Arguments started again.
I then switched off but the line this morning is that Esperance were awarded the game because Casablanca then refused to play. I'm not surprised and don't blame them really, this is the biggest game in African football and it was nothing short of a farce. CAF will now discuss it on Tuesday and Casablanca might also face a 2 year ban from the competition.
