JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Tunisian referee Sadeq Al-Salmi
was punched and kicked after Moroccan club Renaissance Berkane reached the
CAF Confederation Cup semifinals at the weekend with a 1–0 win over Egyptian
visitors Al-Masry.
اضافة اعلان
Youssef El-Fahli converted a seventh-minute
penalty for the only goal of the quarter-final second leg and Berkane won the
fiery tie on away goals after a 2–2 aggregate draw.
Berkane will face fellow former Confederation
Cup winners TP Mazembe from the
Democratic Republic of Congo on May 8 and 15
for a place in the final.
Masry technical staff constantly complained
about the decisions of Salmi at the Municipal Stadium in Berkane, the hub of
the Moroccan citrus-growing region in the northeast of the kingdom.
When the final whistle blew the match
official showed red cards to Egyptian players Farid Shawky and Mohamed Abdel
Latif.
Almost immediately, a Masry technical staff
member punched the referee in the face and kicked him before security staff
intervened.
An ill-tempered match was marred by constant
lengthy stoppages for injuries, angering Masry, who believed some were designed
to waste time.
The first leg, won 2–1 by Masry in
Alexandria last weekend, was also a stormy affair with two of the home side,
Amr Moussa and Elyes Jlassi, sent off.
Berkane, who won the African equivalent of
the
UEFA Europa League in 2020 after finishing runners-up the previous season,
had threatened to overrun Masry in the early stages.
Apart from the El-Fahli goal, a Charki El-Bahri
header rebounded off the crossbar as Berkane exploited an aerial weakness in
the heart of the Masry defense.
The trend continued in the second half with
Masry rarely threatening to equalize and get back in front on aggregate.
Known as the 'Orange Boys', Berkane are
guided by Florent Ibenge, the vastly experienced former Democratic Republic of
Congo coach.
Elsewhere, Al-Ahly defeated Tripoli neighbors
Al-Ittihad 1–0 in a Libyan derby in
Benghazi to book a semifinal date with 2015
Confederation Cup runners-up Orlando Pirates from South Africa.
The only goal of the two legs came 19
minutes into the first half on an artificial pitch in the eastern coastal city.
After Ittihad goalkeeper Muad Allafi pushed
away a pass lofted into the box, Ayoub Ayed hammered the loose ball into the
roof of the net.
Ittihad had chances to equalize after
half-time, notably when unmarked Omar Al-Khouja failed to connect with an
Abdulati Abbasi cross.
Read more Sports
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
