This is the circus the world now associates with African football.
Hardly had the ink dried on my recent column about CAF’s soft approach to clubs and players who drag African football through the mud, I was proven right because the continent was embarrassed yet again. This time, disgraceful scenes marred the game between Al-Hilal and MC Alger.
Instead of dissecting Hilal’s shock 2-1 win over the Algerian champions, we were subjected to chaotic scenes at the Amahoro Stadium, where police were forced to step in and separate players and officials as a full-blown skirmish erupted at the final whistle.
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All it took was a Hilal player who reportedly kicked a water bottle towards the Alger bench, and the situation exploded. The entire Alger bench charged at him, triggering a melee more befitting of a WWE brawl than a CAF Champions League fixture.
This is the circus the world now associates with African football. We wonder why global audiences struggle to take the continent’s game seriously and CAF’s timid punishments have bred this culture.
Their leniency has turned Africa’s biggest club competition into playgrounds for serial offenders who know they can get away with mayhem for the price of pocket-change fines and laughable bans.
MC Alger’s fingerprints are all over incidents like these. This is not new behaviour, they pulled similar stunts in their match against Orlando Pirates in Soweto last season.
Despite previous sanctions, including being forced to play behind closed doors, Alger continues to reoffend with absolute impunity. Clearly, the current disciplinary measures are nothing more than a slap on the wrist.
CAF must finally wake up as African football’s reputation is in tatters, and the rest of the world is laughing at us. CAF should do away with symbolic punishments against clubs that clearly have deep pockets. The situation now demands decisive, uncompromising action.
If CAF is serious about restoring credibility, then expulsions from inter-club competitions and points deductions for repeat offenders must be firmly on the table.
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Nothing else will shock clubs into behaving like professionals instead of street fighters. African football deserves better than this endless cycle of shame. It’s time for CAF to take the gloves off and strip these clubs of their participation rights.
