Al Ahly files complaint against Issa Sy, urges CAF action

Al Ahly has filed an official complaint with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) against Senegalese referee Issa Sy, who officiated the club’s first-leg quarterfinal clash against Esperance in the CAF Champions League.

In a statement, Al Ahly stressed that this was not the first time the referee had made decisive errors against the team.

The complaint cited a previous match against Burundi’s Eagle Noir in the second leg of the Round of 32 in Cairo, where the referee sent off Al Ahly striker Nejc Gradisar despite the absence of any foul, along with other decisions that nearly affected the outcome of the game.

Al Ahly also criticized the referee’s performance in the latest encounter, accusing him of failing to protect Al Ahly players on the pitch and of neglecting to issue deserved disciplinary cards against opposing players.

Al Ahly further argued that the referee denied the team a clear penalty after forward Achraf Bencharki was pulled down inside the box by an Esperance defender, an incident that was also overlooked by VAR officials.

Conversely, the club said Issa Sy awarded an unjustified penalty to the opposition, noting that the ball struck an Al Ahly player’s shoulder rather than his hand.

VAR intervention came significantly late before that decision was made.

Al Ahly called on CAF to take the necessary legal measures regarding these incidents and urged the governing body to assign elite referees to knockout-stage matches to safeguard the integrity of African competitions.