CAF CL Fans: One eye on the game, one eye on the officials

CAIRO-21 May 2021: The second leg of the CAF Champions League quarter-finals gets underway on Saturday 22 May, with eight African superpowers battling for spots in the competition's semis. 

 

Football fans in Africa will be waiting for the matches to enjoy some of the finest football performances in the knockout stage of the most prestigious competition in the continent. 

 

However, football fans are worried from the performance of the referees in these games after the first leg matches witnessed several clear mistakes from the officials. 

 

In Cairo, Al Ahly defeated Mamelodi Sundowns 2-0 to earn a slight advantage ahead of the second leg in South Africa. However, the two teams were unsatisfied over the performance of the game referee, Maguette N'Diaye, and his assistants. 

 

Al Ahly fans believe that their teams had two clear penalties, which should be whistled but the referee denied them. 

The first was three minutes from the start when Mohamed Sherif, Al Ahly's striker, was tackled inside the box but the referee said there is no foul. 

Minutes before half-time, the referee denied another clear penalty when Sundowns goalkeeper kicked Sherif. This incident needed a direct intervention from the referee against the goalkeeper, who should have been sent off after just horrific tackle. 

 

While the South African side believes that Ramy Rabia, Al Ahly's defender, should have been sent off in the first half after a dangerous tackle against their winger, Gastón Sirino, as the defender had a yellow card earlier in the game.  

 

Also in Algeria, where MC Alger hosted Wydad Casablanca, the game's referee denied a clear goal for the away team in the first half. This decision affected the game result as the match ended in a 1-1 draw. 

 

These contraversial decisions increased the demand for the use of VAR in the important stages of the competition to provide equal chances for the competing teams.