CAF stop Libyan and Ivorian home games
Reuters - Friday 18 March 2011, 13:55
CAIRO, March 18 (Reuters) - Libya's Al Ittihad, the club
that Muammar Gaddafi's son Saidi used to play for, will face
Ivory Coast's Jeunesse Club Abidjan in a one-off game on a
neutral venue in the African Champions League second round.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) said on Friday
that neither Libya or Ivory Coast could host African club
competition matches this weekend because of the security
situation in both nations.
Instead, the matches involving Al Ittihad and the Ivorian
trio of ASEC Abidjan, Jeunesse Club Abidjan and Africa Sports
will be reduced to single leg ties with the affected clubs
conceding home advantage.
Al Ittihad and Jeunesse Club Abidjan were due to face each
other this weekend but must now agree on a neutral venue for a
one-off match between April 1-3, a CAF statement said.
ASEC Abidjan's first leg trip to Harare to play debutant
Motor Action of Zimbabwe on Saturday will now be the only match
between the two and decide progress to the next round.
Likewise Africa Sports will not play the first leg of their
African Confederations Cup second round tie this weekend and
will face USFA of Burkina Faso on April 2.
The decision by CAF puts in jeopardy Ivory Coast's plans to
host their African Nations Cup qualifier against Benin in
Abidjan next weekend.
Libya are supposed to play a qualifier against the Comoros
Islands at the same time but that match has already been
postponed because of the fighting in Libya.
The African Youth Championships, due to start in Libya on
Friday, have been moved to South Africa, kicking off on April
16. The eight-nation tournament decides which four African
countries go to the under-20 World Cup in Colombia this year.
Last week Ivorian authorities cancelled the scheduled start
of their new league season.
In Tunisia, authorities fearful over more public
demonstrations, have ordered the country's best supported club
Esperance to host their Champions League match agaist ASPAC of
Benin behind close doors on Saturday, reports said.