Bobby Motaung of Kaizer Chiefs during the 2019 Shell Helix Ultra Cup official launch at Shell Head Office on September 13, 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)
What next after Kaizer Chiefs’ cancelled match with Wydad Casablanca?
Kaizer Chiefs’ Caf Champions League match against Wydad Casablanca has officially been called off, but what’s next?
Bobby Motaung of Kaizer Chiefs during the 2019 Shell Helix Ultra Cup official launch at Shell Head Office on September 13, 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)
Kaizer Chiefs’ Caf Champions League match against Wydad Casablanca has officially been called off, but what’s next?
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According to Wednesday’s statement released by the Royal Moroccan Football Association (RMFF), Amakhosi were not permitted to enter Morocco due to the country’s lockdown regulations.
As a result, the Moroccan government denied Chiefs visas.
The RMFF further revealed it had written to CAF requesting the match to either be postponed or shifted to another country.
However, the match ended up being called-off, with the South African Football Association (SAFA) announcing the news on Thursday morning.
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Amakhosi were ready to jet-off to Morocco on Wednesday but ended moving their departure date to Thursday – and that was before the statement from SAFA.
WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT?
As things stand, the matter is before CAF who has to revisit the rules in order to make an informed decision.
Both Wydad and Chiefs have to wait for CAF to go back to them – but things are looking brighter for the South African side.
According to CAF rules, a host team (in this case Wydad Casablanca) shall be declared losers if they fail to receive another (in this case Kaizer Chiefs) due to non-authorization by the hosting government.
And this means Chiefs could awarded the three points but again, that possible outcome will determined by CAF organizing committee.
- In case a participating team cannot travel to the host country and/or venue of a Match due to any travel or other restriction relating to COVID-19, the participating team shall be considered to have lost the match 2 – 0.
- In case a host team cannot organize a match that has not been authorized by its government to receive another team, the host team shall be considered to have lost the match 2 – 0.
- For exceptional cases, the organizing committee shall be consulted to take a final decision.
