“The match officials officiated this game in the favour of Al Ahly only.
“It’s very disappointing,” said Lamine N’Diaye, the head coach of Congolese side TP Mazembe in the post-match conference.
The game ended goalless draw in the first leg and it made the tie wide open because the away side, TP Mazembe was backed by the away goal rule while the home side Al Ahly was backed by its super fans.
In the second half in the 58th minute, Joel Beya headed the ball past Oufa Shobeir to give the away side the lead but VAR intervened and adjudged the goal as unacceptable because there was a foul (handball) in the build-up to the goal.
It was a very disappointing moment for the Congolese side as the decision played a huge role in the rest of the game. Al Ahly charged and massacred TP Mazembe 3-0 in the last 22 minutes. Goals from Mohammed Abdelmonem, Wessam Abou Ali and Akram Tawfik helped secure a final berth for Al Ahly.
Lamine Ndiaye, the Senegalese tactician for TP Mazembe thinks the referee was not fair to them as they only came to support Al Ahly’s progress.
Replays show that there was a handball even before the cross was delivered for Beya to score.
Al Ahly will play against Esperance Sportive de Tunis in the finals.
