Al Ahly’s Mahmoud El Khatib Addresses Controversy Surrounding CAF Champions League in Special Press Conference

• Al Ahly addressed the controversies surrounding the recent CAF Champions League held in Morocco
• Mahmoud El Khatib spoke to the media about their stance on the CAF Champions League and their vision for CAF
• The press conference called for fairness and transparency in CAF's organisation of the Champions League final

Egypt’s Al Ahly hosted a special press conference today in which they address the CAF Champions League final.

Club president, Mahmoud El Khatib, began the conference by highlighting that the press conference was to focus on Al Ahly’s stance regarding the controversies surrounding the final.

He added that the club would have hosted a press conference whether they had or lost the final.

Before he began, Bibi as he is known, said that there were three things that needed to be mentioned first. The first was to congratulate Wydad Casablanca and wish them well in the FIFA Club World Cup where they will represent Africa.

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The second was that any loss was a chance to learn and grow in the future. The third was that there would be no deviation from the reason for the press conference, so members of the media should not bring up issues not relating to the matter at hand.

Bibo added that he was happy when Dr Patrice Motsepe was selected as the President of CAF and that he had full faith in him to lead. Despite his respect for Motsepe, the decision for Morocco to host the final was not in the interest of fairness.

“The decision broke Egyptian spirits before the result of the final did,” he said.

He mentioned that UEFA announced the venues of the Champions League final three years in advance but CAF announced their venue three weeks in advance.

“This goes against the standard of justice and fair play,” he added.

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He mentioned that he had respect for Morocco and the statement was not to target them, but to address the unfairness of the situation.

Bibo then said that they wanted CAF to address a few issues regarding the final. Among them was the fact that CAF did not announce that Senegal withdrew from hosting the final earlier, allowing other countries to apply.

He also asked why Nigeria or South African were not granted permission to host the final. Nigeria was deemed not ready to host a big final but were allowed to host the Confederation Cup final. Bibo questioned why the nation was good enough for one final but not the other.

He also addressed the issue of tickets. Al Ahly and Wydad Casablanca were promised ten thousand tickets each, with 20 000 set aside for football fans.

Al Ahly were only given 2 500 though, with the rest going to Moroccan fans. The 20 000 tickets for fans were sold online but the website was only open to Moroccan residents. Fans were other countries were barre from accessing the site and so only Moroccan fans were able to purchase tickets.

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Bibo concluded his statement on CAF by addressing Al Ahly’s vision for football in Africa.

Al Ahly's vision for CAF

The club asked that CAF returns to a two-legged final because a once-off final did not work. Bibo mentioned that Africa doesn’t have a unified VISA or currency like Europe did, making it hard for fans to travel to one country for a final. The club also called for transparency and fairness if it remains a two-legged final.

They asked that CAF also excludes countries from hosting a final for at least three years if they hosted a final before, thereby giving other countries a chance to host the spectacle. Al Ahly’s vision also mentioned that CAF should support the nations that weren’t able to afford to host it.

Al Ahly’s press conference continues, with Bibo now releasing a statement regarding the club’s grievances against the Egyptian Football Association.

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Al Ahly issues strong demands to CAF and wants European referees in the Champions League finals against Wydad

Egyptian giants Al Ahly have made six strong demands ahead of their Champions League final game against Moroccan side Wydad Casablanca.

This season's CAF Champions League finals has courted a lot of controversy following CAF's decision to host the finals in Morocco.

The unpopular decision has led to intense scrutiny with Al Ahly registering their displeasure by heading to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and also making urgent demands to be put in place to ensure equity in the grand finale.

Al Ahly heads to the Court of Arbitration for Sports over Champions League final controversy

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that 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.