Several top African football clubs have been slapped with heavy fines and bans following serious crowd trouble and security failures during recent CAF competitions.
Tunisian side Esperance received the heaviest fine, ordered to pay $150,000, while Algeria’s Mouloudia Alger was fined $140,000 and South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns $100,000. The punishments stem from various infractions during and after the quarter-finals of CAF tournaments earlier this month.
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The list of violations includes poor security arrangements, unruly fan behavior, the use of smoke bombs and laser pointers, and a failure to manage ticketing and crowd control. Pyrotechnics and the throwing of objects onto the pitch were also highlighted as major concerns.
Other clubs were also penalized: Orlando Pirates of South Africa were fined $70,000, while CS Constantine and USM Alger from Algeria were each fined $25,000. Morocco’s FAR Rabat and Egypt’s Pyramids received fines of $20,000 and $15,000 respectively.
While most of the trouble occurred in the Champions League, incidents involving Constantine and USM took place in the Confederation Cup.
Mouloudia Alger’s assistant coach, Mohamed Khazrouni, was banned for four matches and fined $15,000 after his conduct following a defeat to the Pirates in Soweto. Defender Abdelkader Menezla also received a two-match suspension, with one game suspended for a year.
Mouloudia will be forced to play their next two home matches in CAF competitions without spectators.
Sundowns, Pirates, and Pyramids are set to compete in the Champions League semi-finals in South Africa this weekend, while Constantine will feature in a Confederation Cup semi-final in Morocco.