CAF’s decision to allow FC Platinum to host their remaining Champions League Group B home encounter at Mandava Stadium seems to have unsettled the visiting team, Esperance of Tunisia.
The Zimbabwe champions had played their home games at Barbourfields Stadium in Bulawayo after their Zvishavane home ground was declared unfit at the start of the group phase. They hosted Orlando Pirates in their first game of the campaign in January before welcoming Horoya AS three weeks later.
However, following the announcement, the Tunisians have questioned the decision to allow FC Platinum to shift the base. They feel the change of venue is indirectly targeted to them as they need maximum points to consolidate their chances of reaching the knockout stage of the tournament.
What is @CAF_Online doing⁉️🤔
The Mandava Stadium, declared unfit until then, is specially approved for the match against the @ESTuniscom! 👉 @online_zifa @FCPlatinum @ChrissGreyZW @faraimachamirehttps://t.co/h4AuMrN4Wc— Espérance de Tunis ❤️💛 الترجي التونسي (@ESTuniscom) February 24, 2019
The North Africans say that for the past two months, they have suffered unfair decisions meant to derail their campaign.
I expose 5 injustices suffered by @ESTuniscom during the last 2 months:
– Events of the final #CAFCL
– Record financial penalty
– 2 matches without audience
– SuperCup relocated out of Tunis
– Timing of this change
Everything is done to slow the march of @ESTuniscom. That's TOO!— Espérance de Tunis ❤️💛 الترجي التونسي (@ESTuniscom) February 25, 2019
The game will be played on the 16th of March, a week after the hosts had played Orlando Pirates in South Africa.