Al-Hilal protests against “the refereeing of the Berkane match”

The Sudanese Al Hilal Football Club submitted an official protest to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for the same game, in which it expressed its strong dissatisfaction with the performance of the refereeing team that officiated its match against RS Berkane, for the second leg of the quarter-finals of the continental competition.

The Sudanese club explained, in a statement, that the main referee and the VAR referee had a direct impact on the outcome of the match, considering that their decisions were characterized by bias and harmed the team’s chances of qualifying. Which caused him to be eliminated from the competition.

Al-Hilal indicated that it had previously alerted CAF to the necessity of appointing experienced and competent referees to lead such decisive matches. However, his demands were not taken into consideration and an arbitration team was appointed that lacked the necessary experience, as he put it.

The Sudanese team confirmed that one of the most controversial arbitration cases was the penalty kick awarded against its defender, before it was confirmed after returning to video technology, although the footage shows that the Nahdet Berkane striker was the one who committed the mistake after raising his foot above the foot of the Al Hilal defender; Which led to the latter being injured and leaving the field, according to what was stated in the report.

Al Hilal also criticized the method of using the “VAR” technology, considering that it was done in violation of the approved protocol, especially with regard to interference after the resumption of play, in addition to not counting stoppage time that reflects the real time of the match.

The club denounced what it described as “repeated ignoring” of its previous complaints regarding arbitration, considering that this opens the door to unfair decisions, and at the same time demanding the opening of an urgent investigation into these incidents, in order to preserve the principle of equal opportunities and fairness of competition.

Al-Hilal attached its protest to a video tape explaining the arbitration cases that it considered influential, calling on “CAF” to intervene in order to do justice to it and ensure that such mistakes are not repeated in the future.