CAF Champions League: Al Ahly lodge complaint against Al Hilal
CAF Champions League: Al Ahly lodge complaint against Al Hilal. The Egyptians lost 1-0 to the Sudanese side in their opening match.
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Al Ahly slipped up on the opening night of the Champions League. The Egyptian giants lost 1-0 to Sudan's Al Hilal in Group B. It was a bitter defeat for the Cairo side, but what really rankles is the "unsporting attitude" of their opponents. And the matter is now heading to the CAF, as Al Ahly have lodged a complaint against the Sudanese club. "Al Ahly have decided to file a complaint with the CAF against Al Hilal, who did not respect sporting ethics before, during and after Saturday's CAF Champions League match", the Cairo club said in a statement published on their official website.
The club set out Al Hilal's alleged abuses. "During Friday's training session, some Al-Hilal supporters invaded the pitch and threw fireworks at our players, in the presence of the CAF representative, who recorded the incident", the club explained. The Red Devils went on: "Despite the decision to play the match behind closed doors for security reasons, Al Hilal allowed 1000 supporters into the stadium. Furthermore, they did not provide suitable, secure transport for our team."
Also read: Al Ahly: three straight defeats that raise concern
That is not all. Players were allegedly assaulted, Al Ahly claim. "A member of Al Hilal's medical staff attacked our player Mohamed Abdelmoneim with a medical instrument, then insisted on staying on the bench despite a red card from the referee, and he also tried to attack our goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy after the final whistle."
Al Ahly concluded: "Al Hilal provided nothing to protect our players and officials. The supporters present insulted the head of Al Ahly's delegation as well as members of the Egyptian embassy, before attacking the players at the end of the match. What happened on Saturday is a repeat of violations by the Sudanese club on previous occasions, including a pitch invasion during a match on 2 February 2020. However, the club declined to complain at the time in order to maintain good relations between the two clubs."
https://twitter.com/AlAhlyfrancais/status/1627651479224913921