Egypt’s Al Ahly Approaches Court of Arbitration for Sport Over CAF Champions League Final Controversy

• Al Ahly will approach the Court of Arbitration for Sport as they seek to get the CAF Champions League final moved
• Al Ahly were upset with the decision to allow Morocco to host the Champions League final for the second year in a row
• CAF have defended the decision to allow Morocco to host the Champions League final, adding that no other country was eligible

Al Ahly are not taking the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) decision lying down.

The Egyptian giants have decided to take the organisation to the highest sporting court in the world as they seek to get the final of the CAF Champions League moved to a new venue.

iDiskiTimes confirmed that the reigning champions will take the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland, the highest court available to deal with sporting matters.

Al Ahly’s decision comes after CAF announced that the 2021/22 CAF Champions League final will be hosted in Morocco, despite a Moroccan team still being in the semi-finals of the tournament. Coach Pitso Mosimane was very vocal about the decision, as is football fans worldwide.

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CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe was heavily criticised for the decision even though the executive committee made the unanimous decision.

CAF have since defended the decision, saying that Morocco was chosen as the host nation as they were the only country still in the running to stage the final, BBC Sport Africa confirmed. The organisation stated that the Senegalese Football Federation were also in the running but withdrew, leaving Morocco as the only option.

Al Ahly also wrote a letter to CAF asking that the final be hosted in a more neutral venue in the interest of fairness to all the remaining teams.

The club have now released a statement confirming that they would take the matter further, by approaching CAS.

“Al Ahly’s decision to appeal to CAS came after CAF took the decision to hold the CAF Champions League final in the same venue for the second season in a row. This decision will give a home advantage to a certain team that will play at home in front of their fans in addition to violating other laws and regulations,” the statement read.

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Senegal and South Africa were also in the running to host the final but both federations withdrew their bids. South Africa withdrew after receiving no assurance from the government that 100% capacity would be allowed for the final. It is unclear why Senegal withdrew their bid.

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The Confederation of African Football (CAF) continues to be at the centre of a Twitter storm over allegations of corruption in the organisation. CAF began to trend after it made the announcement that Morocco will play host to the 2021/22 CAF Champions League final.

The decision caused a huge uproar online as Moroccan side, Wydad Casablanca, are one game away from making it to the final. CAF confirmed that Morocco were awarded the hosting rights after the Senegalese Football Federation withdrew their bid, BBC Sport Africa confirmed.

Football fans, Egyptians more notable, reacted angrily to the news and have accused the organisation of being corrupt. Fans were upset that CAF ignored a letter from Al Ahly, asking for a neutral venue.