The Quarter final game in the CAF Champions League between Al Ahly of Egypt and Raja Cassablanca of Morocco was one of the biggest games to follow on Saturday night. A game full of excitement and stakes as both teams faced off in the CAF Super Cup with the Egyptians lifting the trophy months ago. It was time for a great encounter just for the game to be marred by a somewhat intentional refereeing action.
Many soccer fans and pundits who severely criticized African refereeing after the 2022 World Cup play-offs will be comforted. The Congolese Jean Jacques Ndala committed a huge blunder this Saturday in Cairo during the quarter-final first leg of the CAF Champions League between Al Ahly and Raja Casablanca. His decision will inevitably cause a stir and reopen the debate on African refereeing.
The man in black whistled a penalty in the 10th minute for a handball by a Raja defender. Except that the ball clearly hit the player's thigh. As the referees at the VAR called him to change his decision, Jean Jacques Ndala persisted. He confirmed his decision to give the penalty. The Egyptians converted the Congolese referee's "gift" and opened the score.
غرائب أفريقيا تستمر
ضربة جزاء احتسبها الحكم للأهلي أمام الرجاء بعد الرجوع للفار لاعتقاده أن الكرة لمست يد المدافع !!!pic.twitter.com/9Q6cSlayXK
— Goalna (@Goalna) April 16, 2022
This goal clearly put the home side on a good footing as they ended up winning 2-1 against a 10 man Raja side. The Moroccans showed lots of determination with the away goal they scored in Egypt. A disappointing result for them yet it was the Congolese referee who stole the show for the bad reasons.
SNA in SA
