CAF Respond To Pitso Criticism

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has responded to several claims made by Pitso Mosimane that CAF president Patrice Motsepe is trying to sabotage his success.

Mosimane was speaking to local media during two events in South Africa this week after him and his Al Ahly side lost the CAF Champions League final 2-0 to Wydad Athletic Club in Casablanca on Monday.

Several Al Ahly players were seen taking their medals off right after receiving them, with Amr Al Solia even throwing his away, which has caused criticism of their behaviour.

The South African coach later admitted that he himself gave his medal away because he felt cheated by CAF and in particular president Patrice Motsepe over the final being played at the Stade Mohamed V, Wydad’s home ground.

Mosimane’s criticism about the CAFCL final comes after he was already very vocal when the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations and the FIFA Club World Cup had overlapped earlier in the year.

However, Luxolo September, Head of Operations and Media Relations, has now set the record straight and insisted the AFCON-Club World Cup clash was not the fault of CAF.

“We’ve noticed the comments by the coach and there are a couple of things that are completely inaccurate,” September told iDiski Times exclusively.

“A clear issue for example is the comment made that the AFCON date was put at the same time as the FIFA Club World Cup by CAF. We all know this is absolute nonsense, because the AFCON date was set in 2019.

“The AFCON date was set in 2019. The Club World Cup date was set in November 2021, with a month or so to go to the tournament in Cameroon.

“The dates of the Club World Cup were not set by CAF. How is this president Motsepe’s fault, I don’t know? Was he expected to move 52 matches of AFCON? The dates were set even before Mr Motsepe was the president of CAF.

“It’s not CAF who decided on the date of the Club World Cup, it’s not a CAF tournament.”

September also responded to the allegations around the CAFCL final, insisting that CAF followed all the right procedures.

“The second point I want to raise is the CAF Champions League final in Casablanca. There are a lot of allegations from coach Pitso, especially against the CAF president,” he continued.

“First of all, the CAF is bound by the regulations of CAF. There was a decision made not by Patrice Motsepe but by the CAF Executive, based on a bidding process that was followed.

“By the time there was an opportunity to select the venue, only two countries were left: Senegal and Morocco. Senegal withdraw and CAF was duty-bound to select Morocco.

“You know that Al Ahly took that decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne and they lost, because there is no process that was not followed. 

“It was not a Motsepe decision to move the final to Casablanca, it is a CAF decision – a CAF decision which had followed all processes. 

“Ok, maybe you don’t like the process. It’s ok not to like the process and I understand that the coach and other people might not like the process. 

“But I think it’s unfair to personalise it. I’m just simply looking at facts and the facts are simply not supporting this idea that there is a conspiracy somewhere.”

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September also stated that no one questioned the decision to appoint a South African referee for a match involving a South African coach, insisting there are no conspiracies going on against coach Mosimane and his team.

“The last part, there is absolutely no one who has raised or cast aspersions on Victor Gomes as the referee. I’ve not see this,” he added

When asked why the venue for the CAF Champions League final wasn’t decided ahead of the season already, as it’s commonly done in other federations, September admitted it’s something CAF might look into in future.

“The bidding process was started in end of January, so it wasn’t started before the tournament started,” he explained.

“I’m sure there are lessons going forward when to start this process and all but none of this is in the statues when you should start the bidding process and so forth. 

“By the time the decision was made, there were four teams that were left. No one knew who would be in the final.

“People fancied themselves in the final, which is normal. Last year, there were four teams in the semi-final and Wydad lost to Kaizer Chiefs.”

Pitso Defends Al Ahly Players Over Medal Antics