Thursday 05 March 2026 – 12:49 PM
The Tunisian club Esperance issued an official statement in which it revealed that a penalty was imposed by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on the Al-Ahly club team, depriving it of the presence of its fans in its match against Esperance scheduled for March 21 at Cairo Stadium.
Esperance Club issued an official statement on its Facebook account, saying: Esperance Sports Club of Tunisia informs its honorable fans that the second leg of the quarter-finals of the African Champions League competition, which will bring together our team with the Egyptian club Al-Ahly, and which is scheduled for March 21 at Cairo International Stadium, will be held without the presence of the public.
Esperance added in its statement: This comes following the decision issued by the Disciplinary Committee of the Confederation of African Football, ruling that the match be held without a public presence.
Earlier, Moroccan press reports confirmed that CAF would announce a decision to punish Al-Ahly fans by banning them from attending two matches after the events of the Royal Army match in Cairo at the end of the group stage.
According to the Moroccan Championship website, there is a tendency within the CAF Disciplinary Committee to make several disciplinary decisions regarding the match that was held last February 15 at Cairo International Stadium between the Royal Army and Al-Ahly in the African Champions League.
The newspaper confirmed, based on its sources, that the committee is in the process of making a decision to allow Al-Ahly to play two matches behind closed doors, with suspension of implementation in a future match if the same violations are repeated, in addition to imposing financial penalties, as a result of organizational and security problems witnessed in the match.
The tournament website concluded: This decision, if issued in the coming hours, will be equivalent to holding Al-Ahly’s match with Esperance of Tunisia, behind closed doors in the second leg of the quarter-finals of the African Champions League, in the match scheduled to be held on March 21.
